


United we stand

by Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen



Series: Aberration [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Crisis On Earth-X Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe), F/M, Laurel Lance is Alive, Multiverse, Nazis, Past Relationship(s), Rewrite, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-05-29 02:11:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 33,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15062765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen/pseuds/Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen
Summary: Sequel to Sara's aberration. Seven months after Adrian Chase failed in his mission to destroy Oliver, various members of the community gather for Barry and Iris' wedding. However, what should be a joyous occasion is interrupted by invaders from another earth. As the heroes fight to save their earth and friends, Barry is unsure about what he really wants.





	1. A darkened world

**Author's Note:**

> So, here we are with the sequel.
> 
> Now, let me start off by saying this will have a lot of creative differences, as I was one of the few unimpressed by the crossover. It had its moments, I admit, but it hardly lived up to its potential. If you want constant fan service, stupid villains, and pointless romantic subplots, go watch the actual crossover. If you want a good story, please read on. 
> 
> Nothing in season six of Arrow has happened aside from the Slade arc. For Flash, pretty much everything we’ve seen has happened and while I haven’t seen any of Legends season three, let’s say some version of it happened with Snart instead of Sara. Okay? Okay.

Earth-X  
Night

Two men were stationed outside a large building, looking around nervously. Several other men were stationed nearby as skylights were shining down looking around.

“Hey Doc,” One of them said and the other man looked over at him, “you really think you can get that thing to work?” 

“I better, if we’re ever going to bring hope back to this darkened world.” The man apparently called Doc said grimly. 

Suddenly, a man dropped down behind Doc and pulled out a sword, driving it through his chest.

“No!” The other man cried out as Doc coughed up blood.

The man pulled his weapon out and Doc dropped to the ground, dead. The man who stood over him was a large man dressed in a suit of armor. It was mostly blue and black with spots of orange on it. On his right shoulder was a patch showing The Blutfahne, The Blood Flag of Germany until after World War 2, was on his arm and he had a helmet, half orange and half black that had only one eye slot. 

The man whirled his sword and made a diagonal cut across the man’s chest and je went down. The other men opened fire on the armored man but the bullets simply bounced off his armor, not making a dent. The man calmly waked towards them, his sword dripping blood onto the ground. Once he reached them, in a blur of steel, he had cut them all down and they all fell to the ground, dead. The man then pulled out a pistol raised t into the air, and fired. After a moment, a man fell to the ground from a tower, having been shot.

The armored man pocketed his gun and began making his way into the building. However, he stopped short, the sound of footsteps echoing through the room.

“You’re the best they could send?” He asked as he turned around to face a man dressed in gray armor.

“Funny, I was about to say the same thing. Your precious Fuhrer too scared to face us himself Terminator?” The man asked mockingly and Terminator laughed.

“Hardly, you and your pathetic resistance are simply not worth his time.” Terminator said mockingly.

Terminator pulled his gun out and fired, but the man in armor raised his arm and a shield emerged from his wrist. The bullet bounced off and Terminator abandoned his gun in favor of his sword. The two rushed each other, Terminator whirling his sword and trying to come down on the man’s head. However, the man raised his shield to block it. The man rushed back against Terminator but Terminator jumped away before whirling around with a spinning kick to the man’s abdomen. He was sent stumbling back before Terminator slugged him and he was backed into the front of a truck, Terminator holding his sword to the man’s throat.

“You’re lucky he wants you alive.” Terminator snarled.

Terminator then tossed the man in armor over his shoulder. The man landed roughly on the ground and, as he tried to sit up, Terminator punched him hard enough to send his helmet flying. 

“There are more like me,” James Olsen said he glared up at Terminator, “And one day, they will free this world.”

“Unlikely. That fight died a long time ago. And soon, your pathetic resistance will fall.” Terminator said before he punched Olsen hard enough to send him down to the ground face first, out old.

“Impressive work as always my friend.”

Terminator looked up as a man in dark leather, including a hood, equipped with a quiver, a black mast with red eye slots, and a bow in hand approached.

“You didn’t want to join in on the fun?” Terminator joked and Dark Arrow laughed, his voice distorted by the mask.

“You had it handled.” Dark Arrow dismissed.

Dark Arrow then walked into the building, Terminator following behind him. Inside was a machine that seemed to glow with a red energy.

“With this, our reign will last forever.” Dark Arrow told him.


	2. Arrivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friends from other cities, times, and earths flock to central City in preparation for the wedding. On Earth-X, Dark Arrow prepares for his mission.

Earth-X

Morning

 

James came to on a metal table. All four of his limbs were stretched out to the four corners of the table, held by metal restraints built into the table. Dark Arrow stood above him, a large knife in his hand.

 

“Whatever you do to me, I won’t talk.” James declared, glaring up at Dark Arrow.

 

“Oh, but you will. You see, you’re going to tell me where the rest of your little resistance is hiding. Every man has a limit to how much pain he can withstand. You what I can do this, what I have done,” Dark Arrow gestured with the knife and James glared at him with even more hatred, “Every man has a limit. I can remove all the skin from your body in less than five minutes. If I were you, I’d talk fast.”

 

“I will never talk.” James spat and Dark Arrow laughed.

 

“To be honest, I was hoping you’d say that.” Dark Arrow admitted.

 

Dark Arrow grabbed James’ left arm and began to cut into his skin with the knife. James cried out in pain, a loud wail leaving his mouth as he felt the skin being peeled back.

 

Earth-1, Central City

Same time

 

“God is it’s nice to get away from the stress of work.” Laurel all but moaned as she, Iris, Caitlin, and Kara all got pedicures.

 

“I know how you feel.” Kara sighed in contentment.

 

“Hey, where’s Mon-El?” Iris asked and Kara’s contentment was shattered.

 

“It’s a long story I don’t feel like making long. Thank you though for letting me bring my best friend as my plus one.” Kara said gratefully.

 

“Yeah, sure. What was his name again, Will?” Iris tried to remember.

 

“Winn.” Kara corrected as the door to the shop opened and a blonde woman wearing glasses rushed in.

 

“Hey, sorry I’m late. My flight was delayed due to some bad weather.” Felicity said as she reached them.

 

“It’s fine, really.” Iris said smiling at the blond.

 

“It’s really good to see you guys,” Felicity smiled before she saw Laurel and then it just became awkward, “Laurel.”

 

“Hey Felicity.” Laurel gave a tight smile.

 

What did you say to the woman who was dating the love of your life, died, didn’t turn out to be so dead, and came back to find you with her boyfriend?

 

Nothing, apparently. Words were just too awkward.

 

“So, you’re Felicity, right?” Kara said and Felicity looked over at her as Laurel relaxed.

 

Hopefully, she and Felicity would not be forced to spend much time together during the next few days.

 

At a suit shop, Barry was tying his tie as he spoke up.

 

“I’ve been in love with Iris since I was ten but when I look at the blank page in front of me, I just have no idea what to say.” Barry explained as Oliver came out of the changing room.

 

“Stop thinking about it so hard. When the time comes, you’ll know what to say. You clean up nice my friend.” Oliver told him and Barry chuckled.

 

“Thanks, so do you. And uh, happy looks good on you Ollie.” Barry said and Oliver looked carefully at Barry.

 

“Are you alright Barry? For a man who’s about to get married, you seem…nervous. Getting some pre-wedding jitters?” Oliver asked and Barry was silent for a moment.

 

“Have you ever had this picture of your life, what you want, what it’s supposed to be, and then you have something or someone come along that changes…well, everything?” Barry inquired.

 

“Barry what are you talking about?” Oliver asked concerned.

 

Before Barry could answer, the as a groan as the changing room door next to Oliver opened up.

 

“Can one of you please help me with this?” Winn asked having somehow managed to tangle his tie around his hands.

 

With a laugh, Oliver went over to help the Earth-38 native as Barry watched with an amused smile. Hearing the chime of bells, Barry looked over as another customer walked in the door.

 

_Caitlin Snow’s apartment, one year and several months ago_

_Night_

_“And what have we learned today?” Barry asked as he led the intoxicated Caitlin into her apartment._

_“Alcohol is bad.” Caitlin slurred her mind jumbled from all her drinks._

_“It is if you go binge drinking.” Barry said as he helped her into bed._

_“Why do they always leave?” Caitlin asked in a small voice._

_“Who?” Barry asked confused._

_“My dad. Ronnie. Jay. They all said they loved me, but they all left. Do you think there’s something about me that makes them all leave?” Caitlin said as she looked up at him._

_“No,” Barry said immediately, “They didn’t leave you because they wanted to, they left because they died. I’m sorry you’ve had to go through so much, but they all loved you, I know they did. Anyone would be a fool not to love you Dr. Snow.”_

_Caitlin stared up at him with an unreadable look on her face and, before Barry knew what was happening, she grabbed him in a kiss, let go and fell back on her bed, passed out as Barry sputtered, in complete shock._

Earth-X

Now

 

“The rebels’ technology is impressive,” Dark Arrow was told by one of his generals as they stood in the room with the device, “it’s fortunate you were able to stop them?”

 

“Can you get it to work?” Dark Arrow demanded.

 

“I will need to test it first, to make sure it isn’t a trap.” The general said, beginning to get nervous.

 

Suddenly, a figure floated up above them. The general looked up and paled as he saw the woman.

 

“You have one day.” She said her voice distorted similarly to Black Arrow’s before she flew off.

 

“You heard her!” Dark Arrow barked before storming off, met by Terminator who walked up to his side.

 

“I took ARROW strike force to the base Olsen told us was the current location of the resistance. It was deserted, but only just. They must have left when they realized their gambit was taken by us.” Terminator explained regretfully.

 

“It matters not. Soon, the resistance will join Olsen in death. For now, we must carry out our mission.” Dark Arrow ordered and Terminator nodded.

 

“As you wish.” Terminator said before stalking off.

 

As he did, a blur of lightning appearing and a man in a grey suit with blue energy sparkling off him appeared in front of Dark arrow.

 

“We are ready.” The man said in a monstrous voice and Dark Arrow nodded.

 

“Good. We shall soon take what rightfully belongs to us.” Dark Arrow promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing that bugged me about Earth-X Oliver was that bad writing prevented Stephen Amell from making him live up to his full potential as a villain. This is Oliver as a Nazi, he should be everything season five attempted to convince us season one Oliver was and more! But he was actually a pathetic imitation of 5x17 flashback Oliver. Don’t expect that Oliver here. 
> 
> I brought Winn over instead of Alex for two reasons. One is, and I just know I’m gonna get shade for this, I never cared much for Alex. The writers never made me care, it’s like they just assumed I would automatically care, which is just lazy writing. The second is that the only reason Alex came over was to hook up with Sara, that was it. She did nothing else of significance other than to sleep with Sara. The only reason either of these ladies was at the wedding was so they could hook up, as neither of them have any personal connection to the bride or groom.
> 
> By comparison, Winn and Barry have met, are more or less friends, and Winn would have been so useful during the crossover, particularly during the time when the Earth-X crew takes over Star Labs. And come on, can anyone honestly say they would not have enjoyed seeing Winn fanboy over Olivier and the Legends? Plus, Winn could always use more screen time.
> 
> The whole idea that got me started in this story was the idea that Barry and Caitlin secretly started something back in season two between ‘Jay’s’ death and Henry’s. If you know my work at all, you know where this is headed.
> 
> As you can see, Slade isn’t the only addition to the Earth-X villains. Everyone, meet Earth-X Zoom.


	3. The rehearsal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Barry both have a conversation with a woman about love. In flashbacks, Barry and Caitlin have a conversation about their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m just gonna start off by saying this probably is not my best work. I don’t consider myself a very good writer of romance or drama, so I apologize in advice if this is crap.

Jitters

Night

 

“So, how do these Vibes work?” Winn asked as he and Cisco talked.

 

“Well, if I touch someone or something, I can see the past and the future.” Cisco explained as he and Winn each picked up a beer.

 

“So, you have powers and you build all the tech? Dude, you’re like Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in one person!” Winn said excitedly.

 

“Did we just become best friends?” Cisco said in the same tone.

 

“Hell yeah!” Winn said as he threw an arm over Cisco’s shoulder.

 

“Well, aren’t you two chummy.”

 

Cisco tensed as a man in a snow coat walked over.

 

“Snart.” Cisco greeted neutrally and the ex-criminal smirked at him.

 

“My sister sends her regards.” Snart said before walking off.

 

“Friend of yours?” Winn asked and Cisco scoffed.

 

“Hardly. He’s more like an…unwanted acquaintance.” Cisco explained.

 

Laurel was talking to Caitlin when Oliver walked up to her, two glasses of Champaign in his hands.

 

“For you.” Oliver held one out to her.

 

“Thank you.” Laurel said, taking one glass and kissing him on the cheek as Mick passed them, a plate in hand.

 

“Didn’t I try to kidnap you once?” Mick asked as he eyed Caitlin.

 

“Yes. I wouldn’t try that again.” Caitlin said in a frosty voice before walking off.

 

“Didn’t know you were a wedding guy.” Oliver noted and Mick shrugged.

 

“I’m always down for a free buffet. And liquor.” Mick said, taking Oliver’s glass and walking off.

 

At Oliver’s annoyed look, Laurel laughed before his expression suddenly changed. Laurel followed his gaze and saw he was looking over at Felicity.

 

“Go ahead,” Laurel told him, “you two obviously still have things you need to say to each other. Go on, I’ll be right here.”

 

Oliver looked unsure but, at Laurel encouraging smile, he nodded. He kissed her on the cheek before making is way over to Felicity, who looked surprised that he made a point to go see her.

 

“Hey.” Oliver greeted awkwardly.

 

“Hey.” She repeated just as awkwardly.

 

“So…how have you been?” Oliver asked and winced.

 

“Good, good. And what about you, how are things with William?” Felicity said and Oliver relaxed, allowing her to lead them onto a safe subject.

 

“Good, things have been good. Laurel helped Samantha and I work out a custody agreement that works for both of us. It’s been an adjustment but things are fine.” Oliver said and Felicity smiled.

 

“That’s good, I’m glad.” Felicity said and they lapsed into an awkward silence.

 

“Felicity, I owe you an apology,” Oliver said and she looked at him confused, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I did. And I’m sorry for that.”

 

“You don’t owe me an apology Oliver, if anything, I owe you one,” Felicity said and Oliver was taken back, “When I found out about you and Laurel, I didn’t react well. I was dismissive and disrespectful about your relationship. That wasn’t right and I’m sorry.”

 

“We were great friends Felicity, but we were a terrible couple. Maybe we just weren’t meant to be.” Oliver said and, after a moment, Felicity nodded.

 

“Maybe we weren’t,” She agreed, “I’m glad you’re happy Oliver. Maybe one day, we can be friends again, but I’m not ready for that yet. Good to see you Oliver.”

 

“You to.” Oliver said as she walked off.

 

“Hey.” Barry said as he walked up to Kara on the balcony.

 

“Hey,” She greeted in an imitation of his voice and they laughed, “This is really nice. Thanks for having us.”

 

“Of course, Winn and Cisco seem to be getting along well,” the two looked down to see Winn and Cisco laughing as Winn threw his arm over Cisco’s shoulders, the two clearly a little tipsy, “I notice you don’t have your plus one with you.”

 

“I am plus zero these days.” Kara said and Barry winced.

 

“I’m sorry. What happened?” Barry asked carefully and she scoffed.

 

“What didn’t happen? The end of the world.” Kara began.

 

“Faced it three times.” Barry said.

 

“Time travel.” Kara continued.

 

“Been through a lot of that.” Barry interrupted.

 

“He’s married to someone else.” Kara said and Barry paused.

 

“Oh,” Barry said awkwardly, “that’s…I’ve got nothing for that, I’m sorry.”

 

“I mean, it’s my own fault. I keep forgetting my life should only be about Supergirl but life keeps finding a way to remind me.” Kara said glumly.

 

“Okay, I finally got Oliver to admit it’s okay to have love in his life, now I gotta convince you to?” Barry asked incredulously.

 

“It’s different for you guys! You’re human.” Kara told him.

 

“And you’re what exactly? Besides an alien” Barry challenged.

 

“Alone.” Kara said and Barry sighed.

 

“Alright, come here.” Barry said as he held out his arms and she laughed before accepting the hug.

 

“Was there a reason you came up here?” She asked into his shoulder.

 

“Actually, yes,” Barry said and she pulled back, wiping her eyes, “on our last adventure, I learned of a cool, not superpower ability you have. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind breaking it out.”

 

Down on the ground floor, Caitlin took a drink as she watched Barry and Kara talk. Someone stepped up next to her and she was surprised that it was Oliver. He looked up at Barry and Kara as well before looking back over at her.

 

“You have feelings for him, don’t you.” Oliver said it as a statement rather than a question.

 

“What makes you say that?” Caitlin looked away as Oliver smiled dryly.

 

“You’re looking at the guy who had to watch the love of his life be with his best friend for around seven months. I’m pretty sure I had that same look on my face you just had when I watched Laurel during that time.” Oliver said and Caitlin squirmed.

 

“Even if I did, so what? He’s marrying Iris tomorrow.” Caitlin pointed out.

 

“Unless you can give him a reason not to.” Oliver pointed out and she looked at him incredulously.

 

“Are you telling me to break up a wedding? What am I supposed to do, stand up and say ‘Hey! You should be with me!’” Caitlin hissed lowly so no one else can hear. “Besides, he’s in love with her, has been his whole life.”

 

“Barry seemed off when I talked to him earlier. I couldn’t figure out why until I saw the look on your face,” Oliver looked her right in the eyes, “I’ve seen how he looks at Iris and how he looks at you when he thinks no one is looking, how he talks about her and how he talks about you. There’s no comparison. He may love Iris, but he loves you to Caitlin. I know him well enough to know that.”

 

“Even if you’re right, I’m not that kind of girl. Besides, what would it do? There’s no guarantee he’s leave Iris and I’d probably just end up with my heart broken.” Caitlin said in a soft voice.

 

“Maybe,” Oliver acknowledged, “but isn’t that better than spending the rest of your life wondering what if?”

 

Oliver then walked off, leaving Caitlin to her thoughts. Oliver made it back over to Laurel, smiling reassuringly at her confused look before kissing her. They broke it when they heard the sound of a fork hitting a glass.

 

“Excuse me everyone, grab a glass please,” Joe said as he pulled the fork away and everyone who didn’t have a glass grabbed one, “Okay, so the old man has a few words to say. Alright, so what can I possibly say about Barry and Iris that everyone in this room doesn’t already know? How they’re special, kind, and brave. But you already know that, so I’m gonna talk to about someone you might not know: me.

 

“For the longest time, I have been happy just to be dad to these two and then Wally comes along and…” Joe paused as everyone waited patiently for him to reign in his emotions, “And watching them face everything they have in the last few years with grace, and trust, and love, so much love. And you see a love like that and you want it to.”

 

Everyone watched amused, as Joe dragged Cecil over to him before continuing.

 

“So, Barry, Iris, thank you for showing me how to love again. For showing me that love is the most important thing we have. I love you guys,” Joe began to get choked up as he raised his glass, “to Barry and Iris.”

 

“To Barry and Iris.” Everyone repeated as they raised their glasses.

 

Laurel laid her head on Oliver’s shoulder but noticed he wasn’t paying attention to her. Frowning, she followed his gaze to see Caitlin drinking her Champaign like there was no tomorrow. As Caitlin lowered her glass from her mouth, Laurel, being a recovering alcoholic, recognized the look of someone in emotional pain drinking to forget or block it out. Laurel saw Barry look Caitlin’s way and they locked eyes. A thousand things seemed to pass between them before Caitlin out her glass down and rushed out of there. Everyone looked as the door chimed and Caitlin rushed out into the night.

 

“Cait?” Cisco asked to no answer.

 

“I’ll go make sure she’s okay.” Laurel quickly volunteered.

 

“Me to.” Oliver said exchanging a look with Barry before he and Laurel quickly followed after Caitlin.

 

Iris looked over at Barry and noticed how he was staring at the door, like he wanted to go after Caitlin with all his heart more than he wanted to be with her at that moment. A small, unsettling pit of dread and fear began to form in her stomach at the thought.

 

_Star Labs, a year and several months ago_

_Morning_

_“Hey Cait.” Barry called out as he walked up behind Caitlin._

_“Hey. Um, thank you for making sure I got home okay last night.” Caitlin said as she turned around to face him._

_“It’s fine. Um, what do you remember about last night? Once you got home, that is?” Barry asked awkwardly and Caitlin started to think._

_“Um, you walked me in, we had a conversation about my dad, Ronnie and …oh my god.” Caitlin flushed as she remembered kissing Barry._

_“Yeah.” Barry said awkwardly._

_“God Barry, I am so sorry,” Caitlin buried he face in her hands in humiliation, “you were being a good friend and I made a move on you. I am so sorry Barry.”_

_“Cait, it’s fine. You were drunk. But um…” Barry trailed off and Caitlin lifted her head._

_“Yes?” Caitlin asked hesitantly._

_“Was it just the alcohol?” Barry blurted out. “It’s just that, I’ve been thinking and, looking back, it seems like…sometimes, we share these…moments.”_

_“…It wasn’t just the Alcohol,” Caitlin admitted quietly, “I guess I’ve had these…feeling for you ever since that night in the Dive bar. Well, that’s when I realized I had them, but I think I had them before then.”_

_“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Barry asked confused._

_“Because nothing could ever come of them. You were hung up on Iris and then there was Linda and Patty and we were dealing with Dr. Wells or Zoom or some other threat and it just never seemed like the right time and nothing could ever happen between us.” Caitlin said in one breath, pausing to stop, letting her words hang between them._

_“You never gave me the option Cait,” Barry said, an undertone of anger in his voice, “You just made up your mind that I could never return these feelings and that was it. It wasn’t just your decision Cait! This involved me to, I deserved some input.”_

_“What are you saying?” Caitlin asked as her traitorous heart beat with hope._

_“I’m saying that, since last night I find myself looking at you in a way I never have before. I’m not saying anything definite, but…there’s something here,” Barry gestured between them, “between us. And I think we owe it to ourselves to see what this is. So…Caitlin Snow, will go on a date with me?”_

_“Yes.” Caitlin said as a beaming smile crossed her face._

Caitlin Snow’s apartment

Now

 

Laurel threw a blanket over Caitlin’s sleeping form on the couch, watching her in concern before walking over to the kitchen. Oliver was there, having a glass of water.

 

“How long have you known Caitlin was in love with Barry?” Laurel demanded.

 

“Not long. Since just before the toast actually,” Oliver said to her surprise, “The way she was looking at him…it was the same way I looked at you when you were with Tommy.”

 

“And Barry seems to have some sort of feelings for her as well” Laurel said and Oliver looked at her sharply. “Yeah, I know. I saw the way they looked at each other. Barry is me, Caitlin is you, and Iris is Tommy. God, this is just sad to watch.”

 

“No matter what happens tomorrow, someone is gonna end up getting hurt. I just hope Barry knows what he’s doing.” Oliver sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing Winn, so I hope I did okay.


	4. Wedding crashers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the wedding gets underway, Barry and Caitlin are both in emotional turmoil. The wedding is interrupted by foes both familiar and different.

Barry and Iris’ apartment

Morning

 

As Iris slept next to him, Barry stared up at the ceiling in thought. He had not been able to sleep a wink last night, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of worry and Caitlin. Barry looked over at Iris before he got out of bed. In all the years in which he had fantasized about marrying Iris, as far back as before his mom had died Joe had taken him in, he had always imagined himself as being overjoyed and looking forward to their future. Not racked with indecision and haunted by thoughts of another woman.

 

Caitlin’s apartment

Same time

 

“Caitlin, wake up. Caitlin.” Laurel said as she softly shook her friend awake as she slept on the couch.

 

“Wha-what?” Caitlin stammered as she woke.

 

“Hey, how are feeling?” Laurel asked gently with a kind smile.

 

“I keep forgetting that alcohol is bad.” Caitlin said as she sat up, starting to feel a hangover.

 

“I know the feeling,” Laurel said as she sat down next to Caitlin,” Caitlin…how long have you had feelings for Barry?”

 

“Oliver told you?” Caitlin stilled but Laurel shook her head.

 

“He didn’t have to; it’s obvious if you’re really looking. Which I’m guessing no one else is. So how long?” Laurel asked and Caitlin sighed.

 

“I’ve been attracted to him since shortly after he woke up from his coma, but I guess I’ve had feelings for him since the day he went down into the pipeline with me because I was too afraid to after Ronnie ‘died.’ I never acted on them until I drunkenly kissed him.” Caitlin admitted and Laurel’s eyes widened.

 

“You were two were together.” Laurel realized and Caitlin nodded.

 

“Before we realized ‘Jay’ was Zoom. We ended it after Henry died because he was not in a good place for a relationship at the moment. Then he went back in time and created Flashpoint and Barry felt like needed to see where things led with Iris. And now they’re getting married.” Caitlin sighed miserably.

 

“Unless you can give him a reason not to.” Laurel suggested and Caitlin rolled her eyes.

 

“You and Oliver really are perfect for each other. Barry and I aren’t you guys, we aren’t going to find our way back together. He and Iris are getting married today and nothing and no one is going to stop it. Least off all me.  Barry and I had our time together and it was great, I felt loved in a way I hadn’t since Ronnie. But it’s over and he’s happy. The best thing I can do for him is to try and move on. I’m sure that, in time, my feelings will fade, his obviously have.” Caitlin said her voice catching as she said this.

 

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Laurel said, remembering the way Barry had looked at Caitlin and how he looked when she had left.

 

_Central City, a year and several months ago_

_Night_

_Caitlin sat in a restaurant, wearing a black dress, the same one in fact she had worn when she and Barry had gone to that karaoke bar a year prior. She was waiting for Barry and just as she was about to call him, he walked through the door, wearing jeans, a white shirt, and a black jacket._

_“Sorry I’m late, had a thing at our work,” Barry explained as he sat down and she nodded as he got a look at her, “wow.”_

_“Too much?” Caitlin asked nervously._

_“No, you-you look beautiful.” Barry quickly assured her and her nerves settled._

_“You don’t look so bad yourself Mr. Allen.” Caitlin said with a smile._

_“So, you’ve been here right? What’s good?” Barry said as he picked up his menu._

****

Church

Now

 

Barry rounded the corner in the church and nearly ran into Caitlin.

 

“Cait.” Barry stopped short, taking in her in the dress she was wearing.

 

“Hey Barry. Iris is still getting ready. It’ll be a few more minutes,” Caitlin said and noticed he was distracted, “Are you okay?”

 

“You look…amazing.” Barry said and Caitlin tried to squash the flutter of butterflies that arose in her stomach.

 

“You don’t look so bad yourself.  I need to get back to Iris.” Caitlin moved to go when Barry spoke up.

 

“Are you okay? I was worried about you when you left.” Barry said and Caitlin desperately tried to not read too much into his concern.

 

“I’m fine Barry, thank you for your concern.” Caitlin flashed a tight smile when he put a hand on her arm.

 

“I’m always gonna be concerned about you. No matter what happens.” Barry promised and Catlin’s resolve snapped.

 

“Don’t marry her.” The words were out of her mouth before she knew what she was doing and Barry was taken back.

 

“What?” He asked dumbly.

 

“I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.” Caitlin said horrified and humiliated before rushing off, leaving Barry standing alone in the hall. Or so he thought.

 

“Now I get what you were talking about,” Barry looked over to see Oliver standing in the corner, unnoticed until now, “someone comes along and changes everything. You were talking about Caitlin.”

 

“Yeah. I don’t know what to do Ollie. I love Iris, I do…but Caitlin…” Barry trailed off.

 

“You need to make a choice and you need to do it before Iris walks down that aisle. Someone’s gonna get hurt either way Barry. I just don’t want you to wake up years from now, filled with regret because you realize you married the wrong woman. Just make sure this is what you want Barry.” Oliver said before walking off, leaving Barry to his thoughts.

 

Outside, Kara was pacing when Cisco and Winn walked p.

 

“Why didn’t you come back to Joe’s last night? I was worried.” Kara said as she looked over at Winn.

 

“I crashed at Cisco’s. This guy knows how to party!” Winn said as he threw an arm around Cisco.

 

“No buddy, you know how to party!” Cisco said as he threw his arm around Winn.

 

“Okay, I get it; you two are best friends now. But the ceremony is going to start in fifteen minutes.” Kara reminded them.

 

“Right. Don’t worry; the best man is on the job.” Cisco let Winn go, straightened his tux, and walked inside.

 

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t call, but come on! We came here to have fun right? Come on Kara, lighten up, live a little!” Winn pat her on the shoulder before following Cisco inside. Kara sighed before following.

 

“Bride’s side or groom?” An usher said as Mick and Snart stood to be seated.

 

“Well, considering I’ve tried to kill the groom a couple times, it’s probably best I sit on the bride’s side.” Mick said and the usher, thinking he was joking, laughed.

 

“That would be the left.” The usher pointed.

 

“Well then, I’ll take the right.” Snart smirked.

 

Mick took his seat, ending up next to David Singh, to his annoyance, while Snart took a seat in the second row, next to Laurel.

 

“Didn’t I try to prosecute you once?” Laurel asked as she narrowed her eyes at him.

 

“Try being the operative word.” Snart drawled and Laurel rolled her eyes.

 

Everyone took their places, Barry with Cisco and Oliver by his side while Caitlin and Felicity stood where Iris would stand next to Barry. Kara sang a beautiful melody of ‘Runnin home to you’ as Joe walked Iris down the aisle. And all Barry could do was look at Caitlin, who was avoiding his gaze and trying to look happy for him and Iris. But Barry knew her well enough to see the pain in her eyes. Barry swallowed as he looked away from her and towards Iris, who was beamin.g Barry tried to return he smile and she seemed to buy it, but Cisco and Felicity frowned, wondering why his smile looked so forced as Caitlin accepted Iris’ bouquet.

 

“I wish your parents were here to see this.” Joe said as he put a hand on Barry’s shoulder.

 

“They are.” Barry said without thought.

 

If there was one thing Barry was sure of, it’s that his parents would always be with him in spirit.

 

“Everyone please be seated,” the priest said and Joe and everyone not part of the ceremony took their seats, “Welcome to you all. I’m honored to be presiding over the wedding of Barry Allen and Iris West. Although I don’t know them well, I know this is a good match.”

 

Caitlin, unnoticed to everyone, flinched as Barry’s indecision seemed to increase, as he felt like something heavy was pressing down on his heart while Iris’ smiled seemed to widen.

 

“How do I know that? Because of all of you. Looking out at their friends and their family, seeing the joy on all of your faces, seeing how happy you are for them, tells me everything I need to know,” The priest continued, “these two people deserve to be together, they deserve a long life together. They deserve to be happy and fulfilled. Now, I believe Barry and Iris have prepared their own vows. So, Barry, if you would please start us off?”

 

“I…” Barry began, at a loss for words, his mind racked with indecision.

 

“Barry?’ Iris coaxed, confused.

 

Suddenly, a blue beam shot out, completely vaporizing the priest. Everyone, stunned, turned around as men in black gear, including helmets that completely covered their heads armed with assault rifle burst in. They were led by Terminator, Dark Arrow, Zoom, a man dressed like Prometheus with the same patch on his arm as Terminator and a blond haired woman that was flying above them, dressed in a dark uniform with a Kryptonian symbol and a mask like Dark Arrow’s.

 

“Oh you have got to be kidding me.” Iris groaned.

 

“Please tell me you guys are seeing the Nazis to.” Cisco pleaded.

 

“We see them buddy. But I’m more concerned with Zoom.” Barry said as he stared at his supposed to be dead enemy.

 

Suddenly, the gunmen fired off their guns and Barry and Wally used their super speed to catch all the bullets. The two speedsters dropped the bullets as their guests ducked down under the seats to take cover. Jax and Stein clasped hands and, in a flash of fire, Firestorm stood before them. Firestorm fired a blast at the Nazis and they were all sent flying back.

 

“All I wanted was one! One day without any crazy aliens or psychopaths trying to attack me! Is that too much to ask!?” Winn said beneath the seats.

 

“Get everyone out of here!” Kara shouted as she took off her glasses.

 

At Barry’s nod, Wally began speeding the non-superhero guests out.

 

“I think it’s time you introduced these guys to your mean roommate.” Cisco suggested and Caitlin nodded.

 

She closes her eyes and, after a moment, her hair turned white and when she opened her eyes, they were glowing an icy blue.

 

“Where does she get these outfits?” Frost complained as she stood up, firing off ice sickles out of her hands.

 

“That’s what I’m taking about!” Mick cheered as he stood up, taking out his heat gun and firing.

 

Laurel and Snart fought alongside each other, Laurel using hand to hand to battle the gunmen while Snart simply used his cold gun. Zoom was stalking towards Felicity, who had fallen on her knees when Barry suddenly sped in front of him.

 

“You died!” Barry snarled and Zoom simply laughed.

 

“That’s what you think.” Zoom mocked.

 

With a roar of rage, Barry rushed Zoom and they two began speeding back and forth across the church, exchanging high speed punches. As Kara took her fight with Overgirl outside, Laurel and Snart had finished with the gunmen when they suddenly found themselves face to face with Terminator and Prometheus.

 

“I’m going to enjoy this.” Prometheus said as he pulled out his sword, his eyes zeroing in on Laurel.

 

“Stay focused.” Terminator scolded him.

 

“Friends of yours?” Snart asked as he trained his gun on Terminator.

 

“Not in the slightest. I actually thought you had changed,” Laurel sneered as she glared at Terminator before looking over at Prometheus, “As for you, I don’t know how you got out of your cell at Argus, but you’ll regret leaving.”

 

Oliver pulled out his bow and saw Dark Arrow about to fire at Harry. Oliver whirled around and fired at the same time as Dark Arrow. Oliver’s arrow hit Dark Arrow’s knocking the both to the ground. Harry looked over at Oliver and they nodded as Harry fled.

 

“You guys picked the wrong wedding to crash.” Snart said as he fired his cold gun and Laurel used her Canary Cry.

 

Terminator and Prometheus dodged as the wall behind them suddenly became an icy mess of destruction.

 

“Cisco, up top! I need a breach!” Oliver said, gesturing to where Dark Arrow was firing off Arrows.

 

Cisco nodded and opened a breached that Oliver then ran through. It closed before it opened up on the balcony Dark Arrow was on and Oliver jumped through. Oliver fired, knocking the arrow he was about to fire out of his hand. The other archer whirled his bow and they rushed each other.

 

Snart fired off an icy beam from his weapon at Terminator, who dodged it and jumped over it, towards Snart. Terminator pulled out his sword and swung it towards Snart but Snart dodged and sent another blast towards Terminator. Laurel and Prometheus were exchanging blows when Laurel grabbed him arm and threw him away before using a low powered Canary Cry. It sent him tumbling back through a wall and he came out the other side unconscious.

 

“How are you still alive?!” Barry demanded, pinning Zoom against the wall.

 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Zoom mocked and Barry snarled before punching him.

 

Suddenly the fighting was interrupted when Kara came crashing through the window. She landed on the floor and it sent a shock wave, causing all the fighting to stop as everyone was thrown on the floor.

 

“Stay down.” Overgirl said as Kara shakily stood up.

 

Angrily, Kara turned around and clapped her hands. The force of it sent a shockwave through the church, shattering all the glass and knocking Oliver, Dark Arrow, and Overgirl down. This allowed Kara to grab her and punch her, sending her flying down the aisle and landing hard on her back.

 

“No!” Dark Arrow cried out as he saw this.

 

Dark Arrow then jumped down as Oliver shakily stood up, a little disoriented from Kara’s clap.. Dark Arrow rushed to Overgirl and threw her over his shoulder as Zoom and Terminator rushed to his side.

 

“Fall back! Everybody fall back!” Dark Arrow ordered.

 

“Prometheus!” Terminator gestured to their fallen comrade.

 

“Leave him!” Dark Arrow ordered before he threw something down.

 

There was a flash of light that temporarily blinded everyone. When it faded, Dark Arrow, Overgirl, Terminator, Zoom, and their soldiers were all gone.

 

“Best wedding ever!” Mick declared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’m not particularly proud of the fight scene, so tell if you think it’s good or crap.


	5. Identities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver, Barry, ad their friends look for answers but are thrown a stunning curve ball with Prometheus.

Star Labs  
Night

“How is he?” Barry asked as he walked into the med bay, looking down at Cisco on the bed, out cold.

“He’s definitely got a concussion but I think he’ll be alright.” Caitlin quickly assured him and Barry sighed in relief.

“Good, that’s good.” Barry said and Caitlin nodded.

“He’ll be fine Barry.” Caitlin said as she put a hand on his shoulder.

It was at that moment Iris walked into the room. Caitlin, seeing Iris, quickly retracted her hand like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Barry, feeling the room shift, turned around and saw Iris.

“Iris,” Barry said as he walked over to her, “I’m sorry.”

‘For the attack for or for hesitating’ Iris wanted to ask but bit her tongue, not wanting to get into it in front of Caitlin.

“The important thing is we’re alright.” She said instead.

“Not all of us though.” Barry said as he looked over at Cisco.

“He’ll be fine Barry. But we have a situation to deal with.” Iris pointed out.

“She’s right. We should go see the others.” Caitlin said and Iris noticed how Barry’s hesitation vanished at this.

But she would think about the implications of that later, right now they had bigger fish to fry. The three of them walked into the cortex, where everyone else was waiting. 

“So what’s the game plan?” Wally once they were inside.

“There is none yet. Whoever attacked us clearly knows who we are. So get Joe and Cecile as far away as possible.” Barry ordered.

“No way man. I have to help out, come on.” Wally argued immediately.

“You’re helping out by keeping our family safe.” Barry told him.

“He’s right. Until we know what we’re dealing with, no one is safe.” Joe told him and Wally reluctantly conceded.

“Just…be safe.” Wally said before speeding Joe out of there.

“Did you wipe the minds of the guests at the wedding?” Oliver asked as Mick walked in.

“Yep. Everyone’s secret identity remains secret.” Mick said whirling the device in his hands.

“Any idea where they fled?” Barry asked as he looked over at Kara.

“No. I flew over the entire city, there’s no trace of them.” Kara said in frustration.

“Well, clearly they attacked because you were all there.” Iris pointed out.

“Killers, heroes, now what?” Barry wondered.

“If I know my history, ethnic cleansing, world domination.” Felicity said shuttering.

“Hashtag melting pot.” Iris said quietly.

“I hate Nazis.” Mick grumbled.

“You aren’t the only one partner.” Snart grumbled.

“Their appearance seems quite a severe course of action for a cause that was defeated over seventy years ago.” Stein pointed out.

“Apparently they didn’t know about the Yalta conference.” Barry said dryly.

“That woman didn’t seem surprised to see me.” Kara noted.

“How’d she even know you were on this earth?” Laurel wondered.

“And how was she as strong as you?” Barry added and Kara shrugged.

“That archer matched me, shot for shot. And that’s not the only strange thing.” Oliver said.

“Yeah, Zoom died…twice.” Barry grumbled.

“That’s not what I was talking about,” Oliver said and they all turned to him,” when we got back here, I called Slade, demanding answers. He claims he’s in some town in Chicago, the tracker in his phone confirms it. And Adrian Chase is still locked up at Argus, the security footage shows he hasn’t moved.”

“If it wasn’t them, then who were those two?” Laurel asked confused.

“I don’t know, but it’s time to get some answers.” Oliver said grimly as he looked over at the security footage of Prometheus in his cell.

“He’s not exactly talking.” Snart said dryly.

“Then let’s make him.” Oliver said darkly.

Central City  
Same time

“I told you we should have waited!” Zoom snarled as he, Dark Arrow, Overgirl, and Terminator stood on a rooftop.

“You will not speak to him that way!” Terminator snarled as he pulled out his sword but Dark Arrow stopped him with a gesture.

“The Kryptonian was stronger than we anticipated.” Dark Arrow said simply.

“And now we’ve lost Prometheus!” Zoom snarled.

As Terminator moved to strike him, Overgirl got between them.

“Boys boys boys, save your anger for those heroes,” She said before her mask faded to reveal the face of Kara Danvers, “There will be another chance to achieve victory. And when we do, we will kill every last one of them.”

“She is right.” Terminator said after a moment, putting his sword back in its sheath and taking off his helmet to reveal the face of Slade Wilson.

However, it was not the face of this earth’s Slade Wilson. He had both eyes for one and appeared physically older. His face had a few more wrinkles and his hair some grey streaks.

“Forgive me Fuhrer.” Zoom said as he got on his knees.

“Rise my friend,” Dark Arrow said and his mask faded, revealing the face of Oliver Queen as Zoom got to his feet, “Those heroes will not stop us and we will rule this world as we do our own.”

“I look forward to it,” Zoom said before removing his mask to reveal the face of Barry Allen, “my friend.”

Star Labs, pipeline prison  
Same time

Oliver, Barry, Laurel, Iris, Kara, Felicity, and Snart stood in front of the cell Prometheus was in as he removed his mask and hood. Everyone but Kara, who didn’t know, and Snart, who didn’t care, gasped in shock.

“Oh my god.” Felicity breathed.

“Do you know him, who is that?” Kara asked confused and Laurel gulped her mouth dry as she answered.

“That’s Tommy Merlyn.” Laurel answered quietly as Tommy smirked at them.

“He died over four years ago.” Felicity said quietly.

“Okay, who is he?” Kara asked not understanding.

“Malcolm Merlyn’s son.” Snart drawled.

“My ex-boyfriend.” Laurel said, looking to Oliver.

“Thea’s other brother…and my best friend.” Oliver finished quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it seriously annoyed me in the crossover how Barry doesn’t even check on Cisco after he’s been knocked out because he’s too busy apologizing to Iris (for something that’s not even his fault) and promising they’ll get their happy ending. It shows where Barry’s priorities are and it’s certainly not his friends. Remember season one, where Barry actually cared about his friends? Me neither.
> 
> Earth-X Slade appears older because he was never injected with the Mirakuru and since it’s implied the Mirakuru kept Slade from aging so much, this Slade aged.
> 
> Yes, Earth-X Zoom is Barry. He will be taking the place of Thawne in this, because Thawne in the crossover was just stupid and confusing.
> 
> The fact that no one besides Oliver and Felicity knew who Tommy was is further proof the writers hate their own continuity. The Undertaking would have been highly publicized and I’m sure the fact that Malcolm unintentionally killed his own son would have been news worthy.


	6. Earth-X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes learn the origins of their new enemies as Oliver deals with Earth-X Tommy. Iris and Barry talk about what happened in the church as, in flashbacks, Caitlin and Barry's relationship progresses.

Star Labs

Night

 

“He’s a crony.” Mick declared to the others.

 

“An anachronism.” Stein corrected.

 

“That’s what I said.” Mick said gruffly.

 

“What?” Iris asked confused.

 

“Anachronism, people and things displaced through time. Our latest problem.” Snart explained.

 

“Okay, but why would Nazis from 1945 want to crash my wedding?” Iris asked confused.

 

“Iris has a point.” Winn pointed out.

 

“Plus, why would someone pluck Tommy from four years ago and put him in the Prometheus wardrobe?”  Felicity added.

 

“And I know Tommy; he never knew how to fight like that. It doesn’t make any sense.” Laurel said in frustration.

 

“It does if we’re not dealing with an anachronism.” Caitlin said as she looked over at Barry.

 

“Visitors from another earth.” Barry agreed, knowing what she was thinking.

 

“There are more than one? Jax asked surprised.

 

“Innumerable. Which makes finding out where these guys are from a lot harder.” Barry said frustrated.

 

“I think I know.” Harry said, drawing their attention.

 

Harry walked over to the computer and began typing. A video popped up and they watched some really disturbing images: Explosions, Nazis marching, the statue of liberty being taken down by ropes as The Blood Flag was shown on various banners.

 

“It’s called Earth-X,” Harry began grimly, “it has no designation because it’s a place so awful, so horrific, no sane person would go there. Basically an earth exactly like this one-same history, same timeline- with one crucial and critical difference.”

 

“Let me hypothesize: the Nazis developed the atomic bomb before The United Stated did and were more than happy to use it.” Stein guessed and Harry nodded.

 

“Yes, the Nazis won the war, and New York, London, Paris, Moscow- all obliterated. The SS set up outposts not only all throughout Europe but all throughout the Americas.  And Hitler continued his brutal reign aided by prime ministers and presidents sympathetic to him until his death in 1994.” Harry explained to their horror.

 

“And now they’re not just happy ruling one earth. God, this makes me physically ill.” Felicity muttered as she walked away from the computer.

 

“Line starts behind me.” Jax grumbled.

 

“Well, we have to stop them. Do you think they’re hoping between worlds using a breach?” Kara asked as she looked around at everyone.

 

“I don’t know, but we’ll find them. We have some of the smartest people from three earths in this room,” Barry’s gaze went from Harry to Winn to Caitlin, who Iris noted with a pit in her stomach that it lingered on before he looked to Felicity, “now let’s find our new friends from Earth-X.”

 

“Earth-X?” Oliver asked as he stood outside Tommy’s cell.

 

“That’s right. And I’m dead on this earth?” Tommy guessed and Oliver nodded slowly.

 

“Yes.” Oliver said quietly.

 

“I’d almost prefer that,” Tommy told him, “I was born into the Reich. The whole world is the Fatherland. We don’t have elementary schools and summer camps; we have youth groups and military training. We all grow up without a choice.”

 

“You have a choice now: You can tell me where to find the others from Earth-X.” Oliver said, trying to reach him and Tommy seems hesitant.

 

“On my Earth, you are my best friend. I would die for you.” Tommy said and the vulnerability was clear.

 

“I would have died for you.” Oliver told him.

 

“Would have?” Tommy noticed.

 

“You beat me to it. I lost you and it was like-it was like losing a limb. You weren’t just my best friend. Tommy, you were my brother, and you sacrificed yourself for the woman we both we loved and I was there and you were right here,” Oliver said his voice beginning to get high pitched and emotional, so he took a moment to gather himself as Tommy watched him, unshed tears in his eyes, “You were a good man…here. And you still can be.”

 

“You don’t understand. If I break, the Fuhrer will kill my father. He’ll kill my mother, everyone that I love.” Tommy said, his lips appearing to tremble with fear.

 

“I will not let that happen!” Oliver said with conviction. “I will stop him.”

 

“Do you really think you can do that?” Tommy asked, walking over to the glass door and pushing against it, a mocking undertone to his vice and a change in his demeanor that Oliver didn’t notice.

 

“I promise you that I can do that.” Oliver said confidently.

 

Tommy lowered his head, appearing to be in turmoil. Then when he spoke, his demeanor had completely changed. His voice now had a silky quality to it that reminded Oliver eerily of Malcolm.

 

“Then you really are a special kind of idiot,” Tommy said, looking up at him with a maniacal light in his eyes, “your naiveté would be charming if your weakness wasn’t so pathetic. Is this how it is on your planet? Is everyone swayed by sentiment? Is everyone here so weak? The Reich will change all that. The weak will be eliminated, you planet will be enslaved, but you! You won’t be around to see it!”

 

“We’ll see.” Oliver said with a blank look on his face, giving away nothing of his true feelings.

 

“He is going to crush your skull under the weight of his boot. Everyone you care about, everyone you love, they’re gonna die badly. In ways that will give even monsters nightmares.” Tommy chuckled insanely.

 

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Oliver said before he turned and walked off.

 

“It’s useless to resist! You cannot even hope to defeat him!” Tommy ranted madly.

 

“I won’t just hope, I’ll do it.” Was all Oliver said as he walked out.

 

Central City

Same time

 

“So what’s the plan now?” Terminator asked as he, Zoom, and Overgirl looked to Dark Arrow, who had a blank look on his face as he considered his next move.

 

“We need to find their prison,” Dark Arrow said as he took out a device, a small thing just barely bigger than his thumb, and tossed it to Zoom, “Merlyn’s biosensor indicates he’s still alive, it’s giving out a constant single as his heart beats. Use it to track them to their base.”

 

“Fuhrer.” Zoom acknowledged in a nod before speeding off to follow his orders.

 

“Gather what’s left of our forces. They are obviously not to be underestimated. And locate the Prism,” Dark Arrow turned to Terminator, who inclined his head, “once we have a location, I will devise a plan of attack.”

 

“As you wish.” Terminator said as he walked off.

 

“What will we do about Merlyn?” Overgirl asked and Dark Arrow was silent.

 

“He should have died at the church before he allowed himself to be captured,” Dark Arrow finally said, “For now, his failure serves a purpose. We are running out of time.”

 

“Have faith in the plan Oliver. You should, it’s yours.” Overgirl reminded him.

 

“And do you trust me?” He inquired.

 

“Yes. Will all of my heart.” Overgirl said before they shared a kiss.

 

Star Labs, pipeline, next day

Morning

 

“Nazis from another earth?” Quentin asked as he and Laurel talked on the phone.

 

“Yeah, I know. Sounds crazy, but it’s true.” Laurel sighed as she ran a hand through her hair.

 

“So what do you need me to do?” Quentin asked.

 

“Just keep an eye out? John, Roy, and Thea already know what’s going on, they’ll fill you in. Lyla and Argus are working to find these Earth-Xers as we’re calling them. Just, be careful okay? We have no idea what these guys are really capable of.” Laurel warned him.

 

“I will baby girl. You be careful to. I love you.” Quentin told her.

 

“I love you to.” Laurel before she hung up.

 

“Hey,” Oliver said as he walked in,” Caitlin, Winn, and Wells are trying to find these Earth-Xers using some sort of dimensional vibrations.”

 

“Sounds complicated,” Laurel joked and Oliver smiled slightly, “How are you doing?”

 

“Not so great,” Oliver sighed, “I know it’s not really Tommy but-”

 

“It’s still hard.” Laurel agreed and Oliver nodded.

 

“Not a day goes by where I don’t miss him, what I wouldn’t give for one more minute with him or my parents or even Sara. I finally got that minute…and I really wish I hadn’t.” Oliver said wearily as he sat down on the steps.

 

“You just have to remember it’s not him. It’s not the Tommy we knew. It’s not the Tommy we loved.” Laurel said as she sat down next to him.

 

“I do, but it doesn’t really help.” Oliver said and Laurel nodded.

 

“It really doesn’t.” Laurel said as she wrapped her arms around her and he let her comfort him as well as herself.

 

Barry is running through the track in the speed lab and, when he stepped out, he saw Iris is waiting for him.

 

“Hey.” Barry said.

 

“Hey. Going for a run?” She said dryly and Barry shrugged.

 

“Was hoping it would take my mind off things. Didn’t really work.” Barry admitted and Iris nodded.

 

“We need to talk about what happened at our wedding. Before the priest was vaporized.” Iris said and Barry tensed.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Barry said awkwardly.

 

“Barry, you hesitated when you were told to give your vows. Do you not want to marry me?” Iris demanded.

 

“No Iris, that’s not it. Trust me, I want to marry you.” Barry insisted although a part of him wondered if that was true anymore.

 

“I believe that you do Barry, I want to. But I also think you’re holding something back.” Iris said as she looked at Barry hesitantly.

 

“Nothing’s holding me back Iris, I promise.” Barry told her.

 

_Caitlin Snow’s apartment, a year and several months ago_

_Night_

_“Nothing’s holding me back now. With my new speed, I’m pretty sure I can take Zoom.” Barry sad as he walked the plates of the dinner they had just had to the sink._

_“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, you haven’t beaten him yet,” Caitlin said as Barry started doing the dishes at super speed, “God, I can’t believe he fooled us all. I cared about him.”_

_“Hey,” Barry said after finishing the dishes and putting them away, walking over and putting a hand on one side of her face, “He played us, you especially. He played on your good heart. Don’t let him take that from you.”_

_“God, I just want this nightmare to be over.” Caitlin said, leaning into Barry’s touch._

_“It will be soon. I promise.” Barry said, leaning down to kiss her._

_Caitlin returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. They kissed for a few moments before Caitlin broke it. Barry stepped back, worried he’d done something wrong until Caitlin stood up and held out her hand. Barry immediately understood._

_“Are you sure?” Barry asked a little uncertainly and she nodded with a smile._

_Barr took her hand a little hesitantly but all it took was one look and all his doubts vanished. Barry kissed her, grabbing her. He lifted her up and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. Barry sped to her room and placed her on her bed, crawling on top of her. He kissed her neck and she threw head back as moans left her lips._

Star Labs

Now

 

“What’s going on?” Oliver asked as he and Laurel walked into the cortex where everyone else was waiting.

 

“Our Nazi friends broke into Dayton Optical Systems.” Felicity said as she brought up the security footage of Terminator leading a group of Nazi foot soldiers into the building, cutting down some security guards.

 

“Alright, let’s head out.” Barry ordered.

 

“Just you, me, and Kara,” Oliver announced to everyone’s shock, “this could be a trap. And it’s best not to send all our forces on them in case it’s a distraction.”

 

“Yeah, okay.” Barry nodded after thinking it over.

 

“Let’s go then.” Kara said.

 

Central City

Later

 

Kara landed on the ground and Flash sped up near her. The pair waited for a few seconds before Oliver rode up on his motorcycle.

 

“Just a reminder,” Green Arrow said as he got off his vehicle, “Super speed? I don’t have it.”

 

“Noted.” Kara nodded and trio began to move towards the building.

 

“So what do we know about this place? Why are the Earth-Xers targeting it?” Flash wondered.

 

“Because.” A distorted voice spoke up.

 

The trio stopped as Dark Arrow, Overgirl and Zoom made their way over, Zoom carrying a device in a glass cube. Dark Arrow and Overgirl still had their masks on. However, Zoom had removed his mask, revealing dark hair and eyes that were strangely familiar. However he also had a strange device on the lower half of his face, blocking it from view.

 

“They had something we need.” Dark Arrow finished.

 

“Whatever you stole-” Green Arrow began.

 

“Well, we’re gonna want it back.” Flash told them.

 

“Your confidence is predictable,” Dark Arrow told them scornfully as Zoom placed the device on the ground, “you’ve faced some of the greatest evils known to man and you’ve defeated them. But if you think so highly of yourselves that you can defeat every threat that comes your way-”

 

Dark Arrow pushed a button and, to the trio’s shock, the mask of Dark Arrow and Overgirl vanished in a shimmer, as did the device on Zoom’s face.

 

“How do you feel about us?” Dark Arrow asked a blank look on his face.

 

“Not again.” Barry groaned as he saw Zoom smirking at him with his own face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the whole 52/53 earths thing is yet another example of how the writers hate their own continuity. In season two of Flash, it was established multiple times that there was an unknown amount of earths. Yet in the crossover, it’s retconned into being 52 earths, 53 counting Earth-X. And no explanation is made of how they know this, Kara especially, as it makes no sense why Kara of all people would know this. 
> 
> Yes, Tommy is still alive for now. It just serves no point to have Tommy be Prometheus for two minutes then kill himself. So he’s gonna stay alive for now. I have an endgame for Tommy in mind.
> 
> Just in case it seems soon, in the flashbacks, this one takes place about a month/month and a half after their first date.


	7. Doppelgangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As everyone reels from the identity of the Earth -Xers, Dark Arrow enacts the next phase of his plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, here is where I start to make some extremely significant creative liberties with the crossover, in particular Dark Arrow’s assault on Star Labs.

Central City  
Night

“This is sick.” Oliver muttered as he stared at his doppelganger.

“To look at your reflection and see only weakness? I agree.” Dark Arrow said.

“At least your Doppelganger is not a weak fool who would rather live a lie than accept the truth.” Zoom said as he stared at Barry scornfully.

“What?” Barry said and Zoom sneered at him.

“You’re so busy adhering to some warped sense of right and wrong, of living out a fantasy with someone below you, you won’t go after what you truly desire.” Zoom said scornfully.

“That’s what this earth does, it makes you weak.” Dark Arrow said.

“We’ve been watching you,” Overgirl revealed, “We’ve watched you squander the potential of two worlds. On our earth, we’ve developed a meritocracy. We’ve achieved greatness.”

“You’re perverse.” Kara said disgusted.

“No Kara, you’re the perversion! The most power being on the planet, rendered weak by saccharine Americana?” Overgirl laughed sadistically. “My pod was blessed to crash in the Fatherland.”

“Then go back there.” Barry snapped.

“This is not your earth. Leave.” Oliver growled.

“I don’t answer to the likes of you. My loyalty is to the Fatherland. And to my wife.” Dark Arrow said as he and Overgirl exchanged a look.

“His wife? Gross!” Kara said, disgusted before looking over at Oliver. “No offense.”

“None taken,” Oliver assured her, sharing the feeling, “last chance: Go home!”

“And stay there.” Kara added.

“All of you.” Barry finished.

Zoom smirked at Barry and sped off in blue lighting, Barry quickly following after him. Oliver notched an arrow and took aim at Overgirl, who seemed amused.

“And what do you think that’s going to do? Bullets bounce off of me!” Overgirl reminded him.

“This arrow won’t.” Oliver said confidently before firing.

As it flew, the lead casing around the arrow fell away, revealing a green arrowhead. It hit Overgirl in the shoulder and she shuttered her face one of pain.

“Is that a kryptonite arrow? Why do you have a kryptonite arrow!?” Kara demanded.

“In case an evil you ever showed up!” Oliver justified.

Overgirl yanked the arrow out and jumped up, about to lung for Oliver. But Kara stepped in front of him and used her super breath. The powerful wind sent Overgirl back a few feet.

Barry was thrown by Zoom, landing on the ground as Zoom sped away. Zoom and Dark Arrow reached Overgirl, who was on the ground.

“Get the prism out of here!” Dark arrow snapped and Zoom nodded before speeding off. “Are you alright?”

“I’m pissed.” Overgirl growled as he helped her to her feet.

“Well take it out on that.” Dark Arrow said as he gestured to an unfinished construction sight.

Overgirl smirked before using her heat vision. The beams hit the structure and it began shaking. Kara flew over to it as Oliver helped Barry up.

“It’s coming down.” Barry realized with horror.

“Get me over there.” Oliver ordered.

Barry grabbed Oliver and sped them towards the collapsing building. Barry put Oliver on the top beam as Kara held on beam, stopping it from coming down.

“Get the workers to safety!” Kara ordered.

Barry nodded, speeding around, taking the workers off the beams and putting them on the ground. Speeding back up, he looked around before looking up at Oliver.

“We need to stabilize the building!” Barry said and Oliver nodded.

As Kara used her head vision re-weld the beams to the structure, Oliver used his arrows with lines to hold them up. In no time at all, the structure was sound and the trio made their way back onto the ground.

“Nice work guys.”” Barry said.

“Let’s not celebrate just yet. Our Doppelgangers managed to escape.” Oliver pointed out.

“But escape with what?” Kara wondered.

Star Labs  
Slightly later

“They call it a prism.” Felicity explained.

“What on earth do they need a sub-light generator for?” Harry wondered.

“Well, if you modify it just right, you can use it to create a stable fusion reaction,” Winn said and everyone looked at him, “What? Do you know the kind of weird crap we deal with back home?”

“Yeah, some of us aren’t rocket scientists.” Laurel said, gesturing to herself and Iris.

“Basically, the device they stole can be converted into a neutron bomb.” Harry explained.

“Okay, now I wish I didn’t understand.” Laurel muttered as she turned away, running a hand through her hair.

“Bottom line is we need to find these guys.” Caitlin explained.

“I think this might help.” Barry said as he walked in, holding the bloodied Kryptonite arrow.

“Is that a kryptonite arrow?” Winn asked stunned.

“I hate to ask this question, but Oliver didn’t shoot Kara, did he?” Felicity asked hesitantly.

“Sort of. The flying woman and other archer are Kara and Olivier from Earth-X.” Barry announced to their shock.

“When you said Earth-X was horrible, you might have undersold it.” Caitlin muttered as she looked at Harry.

“Wait, how can there be a Nazi Kara?” Winn asked confused.

“There are multiple Karas,” Harry said and Winn looked over at him, “Just like there are multiple Kryptons, multiple earths.”

“And Zoom is my Earth-X doppelganger.” Barry announced grimly. 

“Oh, well this just gets better and better.” Harry threw his hands up in frustration.

“Let me see the arrow,” Caitlin held her hands out and Barry handed it her, “this has her blood on it; maybe there’s a way to track Nazi Kara with it.”

Caitlin walked into another room and put in under a microscope. Caitlin frowned as she got a look at it, turning to a computer and punching t in before looking at the arrow in disbelief.

‘I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Caitlin said to herself.

“Cait?” Barry put a hand on shoulder, bringing her out of her trace.

“Her blood is filled with a lot of solar radiation, more than I’ve ever seen. I think we can use this to track her.” Caitlin explained, gently shrugging Barry’s hand off and putting some distance between them.

Barry lowered his hand to his side, trying not to think too much of that. There was no time.

“Okay, do it. Quickly.” Barry said before walking off.

Later, Oliver was walking down the hall when Kara ran up to him.

“Oliver, I need to talk to you.” Kara said and Oliver sighed, already having a feeling what this was about.

“It’s not personal Kara.” Oliver said

“You have an arrow made of kryptonite, it feels pretty personal.” Kara said defensively.

“Well it’s not,” Oliver stopped and turned to her, “Kara, the last time you were, the dominators completely brainwashed you. We were helpless against you. If something like that ever happened again, you could kill us all and take over the planet.”

“But I wouldn’t.” Kara said firmly.

“A man I consider my brother was once injected with a serum that turned him into a man I didn’t even recognize. And if this has taught us anything, it’s that you aren’t the only Kryptonian out there. If you don’t see the danger you pose to us, then you shouldn’t be out there at all.” Oliver snapped.

Oliver stormed off, going back to what he was doing. He walked into the time vault, finding Barry there. He was staring at the newspaper he had shown Oliver last time he was here, although Oliver noticed it was now written by Iris West-Allen.

“Hey,” Oliver said as he walked up to Barry, “we’re getting close on a location. What are you doing?”

“I don’t know, I just…I guess I wanted to remind myself that Iris and I are meant to be together.” Barry sighed.

“Barry, this is a weird looking newspaper,” Oliver reminded him, “It doesn’t mean anything! We make our own future Barry. Don’t let anyone or anything tell you what to do.”

“Ollie…If it was you, what would you do?” Barry asked as he looked over at him.

“Did you listen to a word I just said?” Oliver asked incredulously.

“Just humor me, what do you think?” Barry pleaded for advice and Oliver sighed.

“Honestly? I think if you really wanted to marry Iris, you wouldn’t have hesitated to give your vows.” Oliver told him.

“I love Iris Oliver.” Barry said immediately.

“I don’t doubt you do, but there’s a different between loving someone and being in love with someone. I loved Felicity, but I wasn’t in love with her, not really. Barry, you can’t marry Iris and still want Caitlin. You have to choose one of them and let the other go. It’s not fair to either of them or to you if you have a divided heart.” Oliver advised him and Barry sighed.

“I guess you’re right, I-Caitlin.” Barry looked over Oliver’s shoulder and Oliver turned around to see the woman in question.

“Your Nazi doppelgangers are at a shipping depot outside Danville.” Caitlin explained and Oliver nodded.

“I’ll tell everyone we need to move out.” Oliver said before walking out.

“Caitlin, I need to go right now. But later, I think we need to talk.” Barry said and Caitlin looked away.

“I don’t think there’s anything we need to talk about.” Caitlin tried to turn but Barry gently took her hand, stopping her.

“I think there is. I need to focus on this, but we will talk later.” Barry kissed her on the cheek before walking out.

Caitlin put a hand to where he had kissed her before turning, her gaze following him as, against all her instincts, her heart began to have hope.

Later, Oliver, Laurel, Barry, Snart, Kara, and Firestorm began moving out when Snart spoke.

“I feel like I’m forgetting something important.” Snart said.

“If it was important, you probably wouldn’t have forgotten it.” Laurel pointed out and he shrugged.

“Maybe.” Snart said, a little uncertain.

In the kitchen, Mick was eating a sandwich, completely unaware of what was going on.

Shipping depot  
Later

“Supergirl and Firestorm are sweeping the perimeter.” Oliver told Laurel and Snart on a rooftop before Barry sped up to them.

“It’s done. It’s wall to wall Nazis in there.” Barry said and Oliver nodded.

“You two take up breach positions at the southwest corner,” Oliver said as he looked over at Laurel and Snart, “Nazi Kara is the biggest threat, so we’re taking her out first.”

“I like the way you think Queen.” Snart smirked as he held out his cold gun.

Not long after, Oliver was walking into the building when a red blur sped in, taking out the Nazis.

“Couldn’t have left one for me?” Oliver quipped.

“I’m saving Nazi you for you.” Barry said as Laurel and Snart made their way over.

“There’s no sign of the prism.” Laurel told them grimly.

“We’ve got other problem.” Snart raised his cold gun and the three vigilantes whirled around to see Terminator and several Nazi soldiers walk into view.

“Put down your weapons!” One of them ordered.

“These guys aren’t going to give up so easily.” Terminator said as he drew his sword.

Suddenly, a blue blur appeared and the image of Zoom, crackling with blue lightning, appeared before he sped off. Barry sped after him and then it was on. Snart fired his cold gun as Laurel and Oliver rushed their opponents. Oliver grabbed one, tossing him into the wall before he fired an arrow, which got him in the chest. Oliver then whirled around, firing an arrow but Terminator used his sword to cut it in half before it reached him.

“I see my weaker self’s style in you. After we deal with you, he’s next.” Terminator said and Oliver narrowed is eyes.

“If you can’t get passed me, you won’t a chance against him.” Oliver said before they rushed each other.

Laurel unleashed her Canary Cry, sending all the Nazis flying back before she heard the sound of Overgirl flying.

“I see their Barry, Kara and Slade, but where’s their Oliver?” Laurel questioned as she whirled her side-batons, striking two Nazi soldiers in the head before she kicked one.

“Perhaps you should worry about us first!” Terminator said as he kicked Oliver back.

Star Labs  
Same time

Harry rounded the corner but froze, seeing Dark Arrow at the end of the hall. He rushed for a button at the wall as Dark Arrow approached, notching an arrow. He pressed the button and alarms blared a second before he felt an arrow piece his back. Harry cried out as he fell to the floor. Dark Arrow notched another arrow and fired it; getting Harry in the chest and Harry gasped before he tilted his head to the side, a glassy look in his eyes as he stared without seeing. 

Shipping depot  
Same time

The fight continued as Firestorm threw a blast of fire at the Nazis while Kara used heat vision. Laurel continued to fight them off with her side batons and Snart fired his cold gun, freezing a few of them.

Meanwhile, Oliver was still fighting Terminator. Terminator moved to strike him with his sword but Oliver dodged. Oliver then grabbed Terminator by the arm and threw him onto the floor. He notched an arrow and was about to fire when Overgirl was suddenly there. She punched him and Oliver was sent flying into a crate, which shattered upon impact with him, leaving Oliver on the ground, out cold.

Star Labs  
Same time

Mick, Caitlin, Winn, Felicity, and Iris saw on the security cameras Dark Arrow making his way through the hall.

“You three,” Mick gestured to Winn, Felicity, and Iris, “find somewhere and hide.”

“What about Caitlin?” Felicity asked.

“It’s gonna get a lot colder in here.” Mick said simply and Caitlin took a deep breath as the others went to find some place to take shelter. 

Shipping depot  
Same time

Dazed, Oliver opened his eyes. With a ringing in his ears, Oliver sat up and saw the fighting was still going on. But his attention was drawn by Laurel, who was pinned to a pillar by Overgirl, her hand wrapped around Laurel’s neck. Suddenly filled with strength, Oliver reached back into his quiver and pulled out the kryptonite arrow. He fired it but Overgirl dropped Laurel to the floor and, to Oliver’s shock, whirled around and caught it, stopping it inches from her face. She then broke it in half and dropped the pieces to the floor.

“Burn.” She said before shooting off heat vision at him.

Oliver jumped out of the way and the beams hit a steel pillar, which deflected the beams back at her. They hit Overgirl and she was sent flying.

Star Labs  
Same time

Dark Arrow walked into the speed lab, looking around in the red lit room. Suddenly, Mick jumped out, firing at Dark arrow with his heat gun. The archer jumped out of the way then dodged Mick’s next blast of flames.

“Afraid of a little heat?” Mick asked mockingly.

Dark Arrow reached back into his quiver, notched an arrow, and fired. The arrow embedded itself in Mick’s jugular, and Mick dropped his weapon, gasping in shocked pain before falling on his back, the life leaving him.

“No.” Dark Arrow said as he stood to his full height.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” A distorted voice spoke up behind him.

Dark Arrow whirled around, trying to strike Killer Frost with his bow. However, Frost grabbed it and began freezing his bow.

“Didn’t really think this through, did you? You thought we would let you take over our planet?” Frost sneered.

“I don’t need to think to kill you.” Dark Arrow said calmly.

A blast of blue light shattered the ice around his bow and arms and sent Frost flying back. She hit the ground, hard, and knocking her out cold (no pun intended).

“Anyone else wanna be a hero?” Dark Arrow asked, turning around.

Speedy stood behind him, aiming her bow and arrow at him. The Nazi looked to the side to see Arsenal aiming his own bow and arrow at him. Dark Arrow then turned around to see Spartan aiming two pistols at him.

“Like she said, you’ll pay for that.” Spartan said before opening fire on the Nazi.

Shipping depot   
Same time

Snart tried firing his cold gun at Zoom but Zoom would simply dodge it. While he was distracted, Terminator snuck up behind him and struck him in the head with the hilt of his sword. Snart went down unconscious as his cold gun clattered to the ground.

Star Labs  
Same time

Dark Arrow blocked Speedy’s strikes with his bow before grabbing Thea and slamming her down onto the floor, hard.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you again little sister,” He said and Thea’s eyes widened, “but not yet.”

He punched her hard enough to knock her out cold and stood up, reaching an arm out. He grabbed Roy’s arrow, stopping it inches from his face.

“And you,” he turned around to face Roy, “I will make you suffer when the time is right. But not yet.”

Dark Arrow then jumped, avoiding Spartan’s bullets. He then rushed Spartan and, to Roy’s horror, stabbed the arrow into Diggle’s chest, piercing his armor.

“This armor may protect against bullets, but it is not resistant to arrows.” Dark Arrow said, twisting the arrow before letting go and Diggle fell back, dead.

Filled with rage, Roy cried out, firing arrow after arrow at him but Dark Arrow simply whirled his bow, deflecting them. Dark Arrow then rushed him, punching Roy and knocking him off balance. Dark Arrow grabbed Roy’s arm and threw him, tossing him into the Speed Track. He landed face first on the side, hitting his head hard enough to knock him out.

Shipping depot  
Same time

Oliver, Kara, Barry, and Laurel met up after defeating the Nazi soldiers before they saw something that made Kara’s blood run cold.

“What is that?” Laurel asked as what looked like a cyborg with a glowing green heart appeared.

“Metallo.” Kara breathed.

It fired a green blast and Kara was hit, sent flying back. She hit the ground and didn’t get back up.

Firestorm flew over; trying to tackle Metallo but Metallo punched them. Firestorm was sent flying into a wall and split back into Jax and Stein. Zoom speed tackled Laurel and Barry while Overgirl flew over and punched Oliver once more. The three were sent flying and Oliver landed on his back, hard. He looked up to see Barry being thrown onto the ground by Zoom, out cold. Oliver reached back into his quiver and notched it as Metallo cameo ver.

“Hate to do this to that handsome face but…” Overgirl shrugged and the last thing Oliver saw was Metallo’s foot before it all went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly think the ‘gross’ comment was more due to the idea of Nazi Kara and Oliver being together than the idea of being with Oliver.
> 
> Now, obviously, I killed off a few character here. It always bugged me about Dark Arrow, who is supposed to be this ruthless Nazi, just lets everyone in Star Labs live when he could easily kill them. Like, they don’t even give a reason for it. At least he sent Oliver and the others to a concentration camp to be executed, there’s no reason why he would leave all those in Star Labs alive, just more bad writing that prevents Dark arrow from being the truly menacing villain he could have been. I left those he didn’t kill alive for specific reasons that will be revealed later on.


	8. Welcome to Earth-X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark Arrow explains his plan to the heroes, he sends Oliver and the others to their deaths where they receive unexpected hep.

Shipping Depot  
Night

Oliver came to, feeling a searing pain on his face. At first, he didn’t realize where he was. Then it all came back to him. He was tied to a piece of machinery, in between Snart and Kara. Next to Snart, he could see Laurel and he saw Barry on Kara’s other side. He assumed Stein and Jax were out of his line of sight. Oliver also noticed they all had some sort of collar around their necks.

“Everyone alright?” Oliver asked.

“I think you need to look up the definition of ‘all right’ Queen.” Snart drawled.

“Yo, Grey, you good?” Jax asked concerned.

“It seems my retirement was somewhat tardy.” Stein sighed.

Suddenly, they heard clapping. They stood up and looked up as Terminator, sans helmet, walked up on a platform and looked down at them.

“Well, I’m glad to see you’re all awake. I’m going to enjoy this.” Terminator smirked.

“Not as much as I am.” Zoom said as he circled the heroes, his mask off as he eyed them with a predatory look in his eyes.

“This is freaky.” Jax muttered, looking between Barry and Zoom.

“Tell me about it.” Barry grumbled.

Suddenly, Zoom stopped in front of Laurel. He stared at her silently for a moment, before he suddenly slugged her. Laurel’s head whipped to the side and she had a metallic taste in her mouth.

“Touch her again and I swear to god I will kill you!” Oliver snarled and Zoom smirked.

“I’d like to see you try,” Zoom’s smirked turned into a furious look as grabbed Laurel’s hair roughly, yanking on it as he made Laurel turn her head to look at him, “What the Fuhrer has planned for you is a mercy compared to what I would do to you for what you have taken from me.”

“Enough Barry,” Overgirl said as she walked over, “don’t lose sight of the plan.”

“Forgive me.” Zoom said as he let Laurel go and stepped back.

“I understand,” Overgirl said, for a moment sounding like Kara as she put a hand on Zoom’s shoulder before her eyes hardened as she looked over at the heroes, “We have come too far to let sentiment stop us now.”

“Now I know what it feels like to hate myself.” Kara muttered.

“Ditto.” Barry said as he glanced at Zoom.

“Well done.” Dark Arrow said as he walked in and Overgirl and Zoom turned to him.

“It wasn’t a problem.” Overgirl said before something happened. 

Overgirl suddenly seemed to lose her balance, falling to her knees. Zoom and Dark Arrow rushed to her side as the heroes watched in confusion.

“The pain, the pain. I don’t know how much longer I can bear it.” Overgirl said weakly.

“It’s alright. We found her, we found her and we have her.” Dark Arrow said as he looked over at the confused Kara.

“Soon, everything will be alright,” Zoom assured Overgirl, “soon, we will have what we came for and this earth will be ours.”

“So stand.” Dark Arrow ordered.

Overgirl sighed, breathing heavily before she stood up, with some assistance Zoom and Dark Arrow.

“Star Labs is secure.” Dark Arrow said as he looked over at Terminator.

“I expected nothing less.” Terminator smirked.

“If you hurt my friends-” Oliver growled

“I did hurt your friends. And I really enjoyed it.” Dark Arrow said, a sadistic look in his eyes as he, Overgirl, and Zoom approached the bound heroes.

“Are they alive?” Oliver demanded and Dark arrow smirked.

“Some of them. Harrison Wells, Mick Rory, and John Diggle…not so much.” Dark Arrow revealed.

“You better hope I don’t get out of these chains, otherwise I’m gonna kill you.” Snart said, a cold fury entering his voice as the others were still too stunned to process this news.

“Funny for a man with no weapon.” Terminator smirked.

“What do you want with me?” Kara asked, gathering her voice.

“It’s not you, but what’s inside of you.” Zoom told her.

“The general is dying.” Terminator said as he looked over at Overgirl.

“Her blood. She’s been exposed to far too much solar radiation.” Stein realized.

“Like Icarus, I flew too close to the sun.” Overgirl explained.

“But we can save her; we’re going to save her. All we need is a new heart. And, luckily, on this planet, we found the perfect donor.” Dark Arrow said as he looked over at a stunned Kara pointedly.

“That’s why you stole the prism? So you could duplicate a red sun, weaken Kara, and take her heart?” Barry said angrily.

“That’s not gonna happen. And I’m gonna kill you.” Oliver growled and Dark Arrow smirked.

“No you’re not. You’re weak. You think taking the high road makes you heroes, but it makes you weak.” Dark Arrow said before he turned and walked off, Overgirl, Zoom, and Terminator following after him.

They heard heavy footsteps and looked p. Metallo neared them before shooting a blast of green energy at them.

Star Labs  
Same time

“What are you two doing?” Winn hissed as he followed Riis and Felicity down the hall.

“It’s been a while since Mick and Caitlin told us to go.” Felicity said.

“And they haven’t come back for us. I think that means it’s not yet safe yet!” Winn shout-whispered.

“Shut up.” Felicity said distracted.

“No I will not-” Winn began but Felicity held up a hand.

“No seriously, quiet. I think I heard something.” Felicity said and Winn shut his mouth.

The trio quietly made their way down the hall and saw some Nazi foot soldiers. Luckily, they hadn’t seen them yet, so the three of them fled, hoping to find a safe place to hide.

Earth-X  
Later

Oliver, Laurel, Barry, Snart, Jax, and Stein woke up. They found themselves on the ground, in some sort of weirdly lit area with gates and iron fences.

“Kara-they’re gonna kill Kara!” Barry said as it came back to him.

“We’ll stop them Barry.” Laurel quickly assured him as they stood up.

“We need to figure out where we are first.” Oliver pointed out.

“Yeah, about that.” Jax said as they looked around.

“This is somewhat disconcerting.” Stein mumbled.

“I don’t think this is our earth guys.” Jax said.

“Welcome to Earth-X.” Snart said darkly.

“Wells was right.” Oliver said as they looked around, seeing the faces of the people in the camp.

“I can’t believe a place like this actually exists.” Laurel said horrified.

“I wish I shared your sentiment Ms. Lance,” Stein paused, a pang going out for another young women with the last name Lance, “but in all my travels to distant tines, one thing which sadly remains constant is the ability to feel hatred.”

“Stars and triangles.” Jax said as he noted the patches sown onto the uniforms of the prisoners.

“Badges designed to identify purported crimes these people have quote unquote committed to land in here.” Stein explained.

“What’s the pink triangle for?” Jax asked one of the prisoners? “What’d you do?”

“I loved the wrong person.” He said, sending a longing look at Snart which caused the man in question to raise an eyebrow.

“We gotta get out of these things. Jax, Professor Stein.” Laurel said as she held out her cuffed hands.

“It won’t work,” Barry said and they looked over at him, “my powers don’t work, I tried when Dark Arrow and the other Earth-Xers had us chained up.”

“Power dampening collars.” Stein realized.

“Then why do we have them?” Snart wondered, gesturing to himself and Oliver.

“It doesn’t matter,” Oliver said as he looked around, “Too many guards, too many innocents that could get caught in the crossfire.” 

“We will get out of these though, we’ll get back to the people we love.” Barry said with a confidence he wasn’t sure he felt as he thought of Caitlin and Iris.

“I have a score to settle with your doppelganger Queen.” Snart said darkly.

“Get in line.” Oliver said as he narrowed his eyes.

Earth-one, Star Labs  
Same time

Cisco groaned as he came to, his face pressed against the glass door of the containment unit.

“Cisco, are you okay?” Caitlin asked in concern.

“Yeah, but what hit me?” Cisco said as he put a hand to his head.

“Nazis.” Roy said grimly.

“What happened at the wedding?” Cisco inquired.

“You missed quite a bit.” Caitlin told him.

“Long story short, Nazis from another earth came, took Ollie, Barry, and the others, killed John, Wells, and Mick, and locked us in these cells.” Thea explained sadly and Cisco paled.

“Harry’s dead?” He asked weakly.

“And if you don’t cooperate, you’ll join him soon enough.” 

The four of them looked down and saw Tommy, smirking at them from the floor.

“Am I seeing things or is that Tommy Merlyn?” Cisco asked weakly.

“It is, just not ours.” Thea said as she stared at her brother’s Doppelganger.

“Your skills will be useful to The Reich Mr. Ramon,” Tommy said before looking over and smirking at Thea and Roy, “and the Fuhrer wants the pleasure of killing you two himself.”

“And me? Why am I still alive?” Caitlin explained.

“Because your death is yet to be decided.” Tommy said as Dark Arrow and Zoom, masks off, walked up.

“Let me guess, Nazi Oliver, Nazi Barry?” Cisco said as he saw them.

“I suppose his intellect almost makes up for his weakness.” Zoom noted.

“Almost.” Dark Arrow said as Caitlin noted Zoom staring at her.

“Something you wanna say?” She demanded and Zoom chuckled.

“You know, the love of my life looked exactly like you,” Zoom said and everyone was quiet, “but on your face, I find it revolting, as you pervert her memory with weakness. I will deal with you later.”

“Was there something you needed?” Tommy asked as he turned towards Dark Arrow.

“You should have died before you allowed yourself to be captured.” Dark Arrow said and Tommy got on his knees, bowing his head.

“I failed you Fuhrer. Please forgive me.” Tommy said in a solemn voice.

“Rise my friend,” Oliver ordered and Tommy got to his feet, “We are so close to achieving victory. And I cannot allow anything to stand in the way of that. And so…I must purge The Reich of all weakness.”

Roy saw a flash of steel in Dark Arrow’s hand. He almost shouted out a warning but it was too late. Dark Arrow pulled out an arrow and struck Tommy in the heart. Tommy gasped in pain as he fell to his knees, Dark Arrow catching him and helping him down gently.

“I regret it,” Dark Arrow said in an apathetic tone, showing no remorse as Tommy stared at him, pain and betrayal shining in his eyes, “but I must consider The Reich. Failure cannot be tolerated. Goodbye Tommy.”

He twisted the arrow and Tommy gasped in pain as the light left his eyes. Dark Arrow let him go and Tommy fell on his back, staring without seeing as Roy, Thea, Caitlin and Cisco stared in horror.

In the med bay, Kara came to, seeing red light shining above her. She yanked on her restraints and was surprised when they didn’t break.

“You are wasting your strength,” Terminator said as he walked over, “the red sunlight has nullified your powers.”

“And trust me, it’ll make you weaker than you could possibly imagine.” Overgirl said, smirking as she walked over.

Overgirl swayed as she got to close to the red light and Terminator gently pulled her back.

“Don’t get too close, it would not be wise in your state.” Terminator said and Overgirl nodded.

“You did all this…just to get to me? Do you have any idea how many people have died?” Kara asked horrified.

“Their lives for mine, they should be honored,” Overgirl laughed menacingly as Kara continued to struggle against her restraints, “it’s a strange sensation, isn’t it? Feeling vulnerable?”

“Where are my friends?” Kara demanded.

“On Earth-X. They’ll be dead soon. As will you.” Overgirl smirked.

In an air vent, Felicity, Iris, and Winn were listening, crawling away from the vent.

“Okay, does anyone have a plan?” Winn demanded, looking at Felicity and Iris.

“We need to get to the pipeline,” Iris said after a moment, “get Cisco, he can shut down the power in the building.”

“No, that is a stupid plan!” Winn snapped. “Even if they don’t have someone guarding the prisoners-which they would be stupid not to-they would’ve changed the password. We need to come up with a plan that has a chance of actually succeeding and not getting us all killed!”

Earth-X  
Same time

Alarms blared in the camp and the heroes looked around in confusion as the prisoners began moving around frantically.

“What’s going on?” Oliver asked the prisoner Jax had spoken to.

“It’s roundup time” The prisoner said as the gates opened and foot soldiers walked in.

Another part of the gate opened and a man walked in. Laurel paled and Oliver stared in shock as the man, obviously a high ranking Nazi, walked up to the soldiers.

“So those are…the heroes?” Quentin Lance said as he stared at them.

“Yes strurmbannfehrer.” One of the soldiers told him.

Quentin paused upon seeing Laurel. He stared at her slowly as he approached her.

“I had a daughter who looked like you,” Quentin told her, “but she brought shame on my family. And so she was expunged like the filth she was! It will give me great pleasure to do the same to you!” 

Quentin turned and walked away as Laurel stared, shaken by the encounter.

“Bring them all. And him!” Quentin ordered, pointing to the prisoner who had become their ally.

With the guns cocked at them, they had no choice but to comply. Oliver and Barry led them out of the camp and onto a field.

“Not to be an alarmist, but if we don’t have an escape plan, I suggest we get one immediately.” Stein spoke up. 

Oliver looked over his shoulder at the guards. Fewer guards, no innocents to protect. They could make this work, Oliver decided. He gave Laurel a hand signal for ‘attack’ and she nodded. They turned and tried to attack but Quentin pulled out a small device and pressed a button. Immediately, all of them were shocked by the collars they were wearing. They went down on their knees, groaning from the pain as Quentin pressed the button again. Immediately, the shocks stopped.

“Up!” Quentin ordered and they reluctantly got up. “Go.”

With no choice but to comply, the heroes and their new ally stood up and walked towards where Quentin wanted them to go. They stood before a trench and immediately realized what was about to happen to them.

“Turn around,” Quentin ordered and they complied as Quentin walked up to Oliver, “I know you are not him. But I cannot stomach the sight regardless.”

Quentin put a bag over Oliver’s head and it was then Barry realized they were going to die. No one was coming to save them; no one knew where they were. It was hopeless.

“Ready!” Quentin said as he walked away, the soldiers taking aim at the heroes.

Barry closed his eyes; sure this was his final moment.

“Aim!” Quentin said and what Barry was sure would be his final thought was not of Iris, but Caitlin. 

Shots suddenly rang out, but none of them hit the heroes. Barry opened his eyes as he saw the soldiers fall to the ground. All but Quentin, who was staring at something at the other end of the field, rage in his eyes.

“You!” He cried in rage.

Oliver pulled the bag off his head as they all followed Quentin’s gaze. A blond woman dressed in a black jumpsuit, aiming an assault rifle, was standing there. Stein and Jax gapped as Laurel paled and Oliver just stared in shock. 

“My word.” Stein breathed.

“Grey, isn’t that…” Jax trailed of as Stein gave a jerky nod.

“It-it can’t be.” Laurel stuttered a denial.

“Sara?” Oliver called.

“Hey daddy.” Sara Lance said with a nasty smile towards her father before she opened fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I obviously dropped some hints here on Earth-X Laurel and Caitlin. You’ll get the full details on that either next chapter or one after, but most likely next chapter.
> 
> Yes, I had Dark Arrow kill Earth-X Tommy. IF they had limited time with Tommy, at least have him serve a purpose. His purpose here was to show Dark Arrow’s true nature. He isn’t just a little evil; he is pure, unrelenting, evil.
> 
> Now, I enjoyed Leo Snart, he was probably the best part of the crossover. But to have another version of Snart and have them be on the same side seems redundant. Plus, this creates the opportunity for the secret about Sara to come out, as Oliver and Laurel will surely noticed Jax and Stein’s reaction to Sara.


	9. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taken back to the home base of the Earth-X resistance, our heroes encounter another familiar face. Oliver and Laurel learn from Sara what happened to turn Dark arrow into a monster and the fate of Laurel's doppelganger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m just gonna warn you, this chapter’s gonna get pretty dark towards the end. Read at your own risk.

Earth-X  
Night

“Kill them all!” Quentin ordered dodging Sara’s barrage of bullets as the guards opened fire on all of them.

“Go, I’ll cover you!” Sara shouted, opening fire on the guards.

Still shocked by her appearance, the heroes and their still unnamed ally ran as Sara took care of the guards and Quentin fled. They jumped into the trench; there would be grave, and Sara followed them.

“That’s not gonna hold them for long.” Sara warned them.

“Sara?” Laurel asked weakly and Sara looked over at her, a look of pain and longing on her face that was matched on Laurel’s face.

“Hey sis. So I assume I’m dead on your earth?” Sara asked and Laurel nodded.

“And I’m dead on this one.” Laurel noted and Sara nodded.

“Sara.” Their still unnamed ally called out and Sara looked over at him.

“Right, let’s get this off you,” Sara said as she put her hands on the collar around his neck, pushed a button, and got it off, “do your thing Ray.”

“You might want to close your eyes.” Ray said as he stood up.

“Why?” Jax asked confused.

In response, Ray was suddenly glowing with a bright energy. He suddenly flew up into the sky and tossed a yellow ball of energy at the Nazis. It hit them and exploded in a ball of fire.

“I believe he just answered your question Jefferson.” Stein said as Ray flew back down.

“Come on, let’s go.” Ray said.

“Go where?” Snart demanded.

“Our base.” Ray said simply.

“I’m sorry, your base? Who exactly are you?” Oliver demanded.

“I was thinking the exact same thing about you guys.” Ray said as they heard gunshots.

“We can save that for later, we should go.” Sara ordered and no one argued as they began to flee.

Star City, Earth-X  
Later

Sara and Ray led the heroes into the base. As they looked around, Oliver, Laurel, and Barry realized it was this earth’s version of the bunker.

“Looks like we’re on this earth’s version of the lair.” Laurel noted and Oliver nodded.

“That’s quite a story,” Ray said, referring to their explanation of how they’d gotten here, “so, you turn into the burning man,” Ray gestured to Jax and Stein before looking at Laurel and Snart, “you two are the doppelgangers of the resistance’s two greatest heroes,” finally, he turned to Oliver and Barry, “and you two are the good doppelgangers of the Fuhrer and one of his top generals.” 

“What earth are you from?” Sara inquired, not looking at Laurel or Oliver.

“We’re from Earth-1.” Barry explained and was surprised by the looks on their faces.

“Well that’s a coincidence.” Sara said as she looked over at Ray.

“Am I missing something here?” Jax asked.

“I’m from Earth-1 to.” Ray said to their surprise.

“Then you know how we got here.” Barry said and Ray nodded.

“Yeah, I’ve got a pretty good idea,” Ray said, picking up a small tablet and showing them a schematic of a device, “I think you guys came through a temporal gateway.”

“Same physics as a breach, just more stable and larger.” Stein said surprised.

“Yeah, much larger.” Barry added.

“So we have a way to get back.” Laurel said and Oliver noted the hesitant look on Sara and Ray’s faces.

“Where is it?” Snart demanded.

“It’s actually not too far from here. We could even drive you there.” Sara explained.

“Then why do you look like you both drank acid?” Oliver demanded.

“Because it’s guarded by a not so small army of Nazis.” Ray explained.

“We’ve been through worse.” Jax said confidently.

“Look, it’s our only way home. So we’re going through it.” Barry said in a voice full of determination.

“The hell you are.” 

They all turned around and stared at the man who stood behind them.

“No one is going through it because we’re blowing it to kingdom come.” Roy Harper snapped.

“Roy?” Oliver asked, staring at his student’s doppelganger.

Roy was dressed in a red shirt underneath a brown jacket with black jeans. He had a beard and a red arm, obviously robotic. But it was the look in his eyes that was the most different. They were the eyes Oliver saw every time he looked in the mirror, the eyes of someone who had lived a life of pain and suffering.

“Please, general Harper.” Sara said as she walked up to him.

“Who the hell are these guys? And why do they look like they guys we’ve been trying to kill for years?” Roy demanded as he gestured to Oliver and Barry.

“They’re friends from Earth-1. And they’re here to help.” Ray said as he walked over to Roy and Sara.

“Except the part where you guys want to blow up our only way home.” Jax snapped.

“Trust me, we don’t want to but we have to.” Sara explained.

“Everyone we care about is on the other side of that gateway, waiting to be executed by your enemies.” Oliver snapped.

“Eliminate that gateway; you eliminate our only way to save them.” Stein tried to reason with Roy.

“I’m sorry, but we’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this for years. We cannot wait another day,” Roy snapped, “This is the only way to separate the Fuhrer from his army. We are trying to end this war!”

“You’re gonna leave our earth at the mercy of the four psychopaths who ravaged yours!” Oliver snarled.

“Just help us get into the gateway, we’ll handle the rest.” Barry said confidently. 

“The facility is guarded by thirty Panzer twelves, fifty Sturmtigers, and one-hundred Schutzstaffel officers. It can’t be done.” Sara said gently.

“We are blowing up that gateway, final order!” Roy snapped before storming ff.

“Hey,” Ray moved to block Oliver as he moved to go after Roy, “you won’t change his mind.”

“On my earth, he and I are like brothers. He’ll listen to me.” Oliver said confidently.

“Ray,” Sara said and they all looked at her, “let him try.”

Reluctantly, Ray stepped aside and Oliver gave Sara a grateful nod as he followed Roy. He found him at a table, going over some plans.

“You don’t take orders well.” Roy said, not turning around to face Oliver.

“Because I’m usually the one giving them. Roy, please don’t do this.” Oliver pleaded.

“Do not call me that, we are not friends,” Roy snarled as he turned around to face Oliver, “on this earth, you have taken everything from me. My family, more friends than I can count, the woman I love. And this!” Roy gestured to his robotic arm. “You think I lost it in a knife right?! No, you did this to me!”

“That wasn’t me,” Oliver said, trying to swallow his revulsion, “I’m not asking you to surrender, I am just asking you to let me get back to my earth before you destroy it. Then, I’ll kill him for you.” 

“You don’t understand,” Roy ran a hand through his hair, “they have a doomsday device. Something that can affect other worlds. It has to be eliminated.”

“This women that you loved, it was my sister right? Thea?” Oliver asked and Roy tensed. “On my earth, she is still alive and you two are together. Raising a daughter, starting a life together. But if I don’t get back there, your Oliver Queen is going to kill her. On my earth, you and I are partners. We have saved our city, our earth, together. You trust me with our life and I try my best to repay that trust Roy. All I am asking is for you to give me a chance. Please.”

“I’m sorry about your Thea,” Roy said quietly after a moment, “your earth. But I have a chance to save my people, my earth. I have to take it. My decision is final.”

Roy then walked off, leaving Oliver staring after him, feeling completely helpless.

Laurel was sitting a step, staring into space when Sara walked over.

“Hey. Mind some company?” Sara offered ad Laurel shook her head.

“No, go ahead.” Laurel gestured to the spot next to her and Sara sat down.

“So, how did I die on your earth?” Sara asked and Laurel couldn’t help but laugh.

“What a conversation starter,” Laurel quipped and Sara smiled before Laurel frowned, “a psychopath drugged his daughter, someone we both cared about, putting her into a hypnotized like state, and she put three arrows in your chest.”

“Why would he do that?” Sara asked bewildered.

“As part of a plan to get revenge on Ollie and me, who he blamed for the death of his son,” Laurel sighed, “so how’d I die on this earth?”

“That’s…complicated.” Sara hedged.

“I’d like to hear it,” the two sisters looked up as Oliver made his way over, “as well as what happened on this earth to make me such a monster.”

“No luck with Roy?” Laurel asked and he shook his head.

“He won’t budge.” Oliver sighed.

“I’m sorry Ollie.” Sara said apologetically.

“Not your fault. So, how did I become this…monster? Please, I need to know.” Oliver said and they two looked at Sara.

“The story of how you died begins with what happened to you on this earth,” Sara looked from Laurel to Oliver, “it’s not a pretty story.”

“Just tell us, please.” Laurel said and Sara sighed before continuing.

“Your father was the Fuhrer. You were born to him into the hierarchy of the Reich. The three of us and Tommy Merlyn grew up together. Tommy believed in the cause but we didn’t. But we weren’t stupid enough to say anything about it. One day, eleven years ago, your father took you on a trip to meet with someone in what is on your earth China. But you never made it there; the boat you were taking went down. We all assumed you died. With you and your father both dead, Tommy’s father, Malcolm Merlyn, assumed the position of the Reich. Tommy became his right hand as Prometheus.

“Laurel and I secretly began supplying the resistance with Intel they were able to use. But we couldn’t do it often without raising suspicion, so we had to do it sporadically and stay close to Tommy, even the boy we had grown up with was long gone. Replaced by another version of his father. 

“Then, what we thought was a miracle happened: Five years after you were presumed dead, you were found on an island in the North China Sea.”

“Lian Yu.” Oliver interrupted and Sara nodded.

“I assume that happened on your earth as well?” Sara asked and Oliver and Laurel nodded. “I guess some things never change. Anyway, you were found with an assassin The Reich had thought dead for over six years: Slade Wilson, known as The Terminator. You never told us what happened, how you survived and how you met with Wilson. Looking back, I wished   
I’d asked, but I ignored the signs that were there, because I didn’t want to see what was right in front of me: the Ollie Queen I knew was gone. He died when the boat went down. Who came back was a complete stranger who only looked like him.

“You were dedicated to the cause now, almost obsessively. You quickly rose up through the ranks, taking on every mission assigned to you with Terminator as your partner. During those years, you’d become greatly skilled with a bow and arrow, adapting the name Dunkler Pfeil, Dark Arrow. And then, two months after you returned home, we saw your true nature revealed.

“It was discovered that your mother and Malcolm had been having an affair behind your father’s back and he, not your father, was the father of your sister Thea. More than that, they had conspired to kill your father, planting a bomb on the boat you two had taken on the mission. The only miscalculation was you tagging along.

“When you found out, you flew into a rage unlike anything I’d ever seen. You attack Malcom in front of all his general and killed him. Then you and Terminator killed every last one of them, except for Tommy, claiming you were cleansing The Reich of filth. You assumed the position of Fuhrer, with Terminator as your top general. The two of you gathered a new council of generals, those you felt were trustworthy: Tommy, Barry Allen, Caitlin Snow, Overgirl, and me and Laurel. 

“You executed your mother on a live broadcast to the Reich, claiming that treachery would no longer be tolerated. Laurel and I continued to stay close to you, hoping to gather as much Intel as we could. Even when you discovered that Thea had been involved with General Harper-”

“What did I do?” Oliver, who had been growing more and more pale as Sara went out, asked hoarsely, “what did I do to my sister?”

“I don’t know,” Sara sighed, “you claimed she was a product of filth and was filth herself, that could not be forgiven. You claimed that you killed her but maybe it’s because I still don’t want to give up hope part of the Ollie I knew is still in there somewhere that I’m not ready to accept it. Snow, she had developed a method of torture. She a doctor, but she used her talents not for helping people, but for torturing people. She had this drug for interrogation purposes, she called it The Roter Tod, it’s German for-”

“Let me guess, The Red Death.” Oliver said as he paled even more and Sara nodded.

“She used it to extract every piece of Intel on the resistance they could. Thea told them everything, even that Laurel and I were spies. You sent Terminator, Overgirl, Tommy, Barry, who had received his speedster powers by then and had become Zoom, and as many soldiers as you could after us. General Harper had sent his best men to extract us but Terminator and the others caught up with us. There was a fire fight and the next thing I remembered was waking up here, badly hurt.”

“I didn’t make it here, did?” Laurel asked and Sara shook her head sadly.

“They had to get out of there, there were too many. They could only save one of us and they couldn’t get to you. But they got me out,” Sara sighed, “About a day after I woke up, we revived a live transmission. It was of Oliver, standing over you as you were strapped to a table. He was sending it to a live feed to every news station around the world. He told everyone watching that Laurel was a traitor to The Reich, had been for years. And even worse, in an escape attempt, she had used her powers to kill several of his soldiers, and one of his top generals, Caitlin Snow, had been among the casualties. An example had to be made, he said.”

“What did I do to her?” Oliver asked softly, not wanting to know but unable to stop the question.

“On that live feed, you skinned her alive,” Sara said, tears rolling down her face, “the whole time she was alive, begging you to stop, that she still loved you. He told her she was filth, that she disgusted him. Once he was done, he told anyone who was watching that those who stood against him would now receive the same fate as Laurel.”

Sara couldn’t speak anymore, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed. Oliver fell to his knees, his face as white as a ghost. Laurel took Sara into her arms, hoping to offer her sister’s doppelganger some comfort as she processed the true horrors to what this Earth’s Oliver Queen was capable of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I still had Earth-X Winn as the resistance leader, but I figured since I had regular Winn in a major role already, I could do something else. I was leading towards Hank Henshaw/Martian Manhunter being the resistance leader but I couldn’t find a way to do that, so I decided on Roy here. 
> 
> Hope I did okay on the Dark Arrow backstory.


	10. Raiding the facility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the heroes attempt to escape Earth-X, Winn, Iris, and Felicity attempt to save Kara.

Earth-X, Rebel base  
Night

Laurel walked into a room to see her boyfriend rummaging around, looking for something.

“Ollie, what are you doing?” Laurel asked confused.

“Looking for a gun, a knife, anything I can get my hands on.” Oliver said distractedly.

“Ollie, you heard Sara, there’s no way we can take that facility building.” Laurel reminded her.

“Yeah, I heard her. I also heard her when she told me the kind of monster my doppelganger is. He’s already killed his Thea and considering Roy’s Doppelganger is the leader of the resistance on this earth, he’ll have no problem with killing either of them. We’ve already lost John; I’m not losing them to. So I’m gonna find a weapon and go take that facility or die trying.” Oliver snapped as turned to face her.

“Oliver,” Laurel walked over to him and took his face in her hands, “I know how worried you are, but we can’t run off halfcocked on this earth. We have to think.”

“Laurel, if he felt even a fraction of what I fell for you, for Thea, for my mom, and still did all that… Dark Arrow is capable of just about anything.” Oliver said, still shaken from what Sara had told them.

“We will get out of here and save them, I promise.” Laurel said as he broke away from her.

“You can’t make that promise Laurel!” Oliver snapped.

“He’s right,” the pair looked up to see Roy enter the room, “but I can.”

“I thought you were planning on blowing our way home up.” Laurel said after a minute of stunned silence.

“I was and I still am. But if there’s an earth where Thea is still alive, well, I’ll help you get back to her, save her.” Roy told them.

Later, the three of them, Sara, Snart, Jax, Stein, and Ray stood around a table, going over battle plans.

“Okay, you referenced a hundred guards. I assume most of them are around the perimeter?” Oliver inquired.

“Yeah.” Sara nodded.

“Okay, we’ll fight through them outside, we access the main corridor. What is security like inside the corridor?” Oliver inquired.

“I’ll do some recon,” Barry sped off, to Oliver’s annoyance, before speeding back in, “So the entire facility has Metahuman dampeners.”

“We can’t take that hanger with no powers man.” Jax pointed out.

“These satellites indicate a control room off the hanger. That must be where the dampener is.” Stein realized.

“Okay, well, we definitely can’t take the main control room with no powers. It’s not like we blend in here.” Jax pointed out.

“Maybe we don’t, but they do.” Laurel said as she looked back and for the between Oliver and Barry.

“I was thinking the same thing.” Oliver said as Roy clapped his hands.

“Well, looks like you’ve got everything in hand. You guys have an hour,” Roy said and they all looked at him, “if you don’t make it through that gateway, I’m not giving you more time. Just so we’re clear.” 

“Let’s move out. Stein,” Oliver called out and everyone paused, “hang back for a sec. I wanna speak to you for a minute.”

Stein shrugged at them and everyone else walked out, leaving Stein and Oliver alone.

“Is there a problem Mr. Queen?” Stein inquired.

“You know Sara,” Oliver said and Stein froze, his heart hammering in his chest, “not from time traveling either. I saw the way you and Jax reacted to Sara, you know her personally. I don’t know how, and there’s no time for storytelling. But you will tell us how you know her, once this is all over.”

Oliver then walked off, leaving Stein with an unsettling feeling in his stomach that let him know that particular conversation wasn’t going to end well. 

Earth-1, Star Labs  
Same time

“Red sun saturation is complete,” Zoom said, taking out the needle he had stabbed into Kara’s forearm out, “She’s ready.”

“And you will wake up stronger than you’ve ever been.” Dark Arrow said as he looked down at Overgirl, who was lying in her own bed.

“I love you.” Overgirl said and Dark Arrow kissed her forehead.

“I love you.” He said before putting the oxygen mask over her face. 

“You will not be getting the same mercy, as we need you awake for the procedure.” Zoom said as he began moving around the med-bay.

“My cousin, he will find you.” Kara said weakly and Zoom, Dark Arrow, and Terminator all laughed.

“Your cousin?” Terminator asked amused.

“On our earth, we’ve already fought and beaten your cousin. Your cousin does not concern us.” Dark Arrow said arrogantly.

Suddenly, the power went out as they all looked around in concern, save the unconscious Overgirl.

“What’s going on?” Dark Arrow demanded.

“I don’t know,” Zoom sped out and over to the cortex, where he began checking the power as Dark arrow and Terminator followed him, “we only have backup power and it won’t be enough for the procedure.” 

“Everyone in the building has been accounted for, who could be doing this?” Dark Arrow growled.

Back in the med-bay, the remaining guards were suddenly shot with ice. Kara looked up as Winn, armed with a cold gun identical to Snart’s, jumped down with Iris and Felicity.

“Remind me to thank Cisco for building another one of those.” Iris said as Winn and Felicity rushed over to Kara.

“Kara, are you okay?” Winn asked as they got the straps of her.

“Just get me to the sun.” Kara said weakly.

Suddenly, there was a dark blur and Winn was suddenly against the wall, Zoom’s hand around his through. Felicity and Iris jumped as Dark Arrow, arrow notched in his bow, and Terminator, his sword drawn, walked back into the room. 

“Did you really think it would be that easy?” Terminator asked.

Earth-X  
Same time

“I need your papers.” A Nazi told the driver of the car.

“I don’t have any papers, this is kind of important.” Snart, dressed in Nazi disguise, said from the driver’s seat.

“I need your papers.” The Nazi repeated and Snart shrugged.

“Suit yourself, but I think you might wanna have a talk with our boss.” Snart said, gesturing to the back.

The back window rolled down and Oliver, dressed in a Nazi uniform, looked over at the soldier and a cold look in his eyes, identical to Dark Arrow’s, shown.

“As you were.” Oliver said in a perfect imitation of Dark Arrow and the Nazi stepped back, fear written across his face.

“My apologies sir, let them through!” He said before backing away as much as he could as the front gates opened up.

Not long after, Oliver was walking through the front entrance and several Nazis stopped and gave him the Nazi salute. Feeling disgusted but knowing he had to keep his cover, Oliver returned the gesture as Quentin raced over.

“My Fuhrer, we were not expecting you back.” Quentin said nervously and Oliver noticed a burn over his left eye, no doubt from the energy blast Ray had thrown at them.

“I was not anticipating being back so soon. Thanks to your incompetence, the earth-1 Doppelgangers my Doppelganger,” Oliver said evenly raising his voice slightly, “escaped his execution.”

“Yes, he did.” Quentin said.

“And?” Oliver demanded, keeping his cover.

“We are exhausting every possible resource to locate them. Would you like to delay deployment?” Quentin inquired.

“Deployment?” Oliver inquired, trying to keep up the façade of knowing what Quentin was talking about.

“She is inbound and ready.” Quentin said as he stepped away, pressing a button and Oliver paled as he saw what Roy had no doubt been calling the ‘doomsday device.’

“The Wellenreiter is fully operational and at the ready Mein Fuhrer,” Quentin said as Oliver stared at a ship that was clearly this earth’s version of The Waveridder, “Shall I send her through?”

“As scheduled.” Oliver said, fighting to keep his tone even and his face blank, knowing it would give something away if he suddenly told them to halt.

Quentin nodded and pressed a button. The Wellenreiter flew into the sky where a portal, a like a breach but much larger and red, opened up. The timeship went through before the portal closed.

“Hail Victory!” Quentin shouted, giving the Nazi salute, an action that was echoed by the other Nazis.

“Hail Victory.” Oliver said, feeling like he was tasting bile. 

Earth-1, Star Labs  
Shortly after

“Good news, the Wellenreiter has made the journey here.” Zoom announced, looking through a tablet.

“Kara is all that matters.” Dark Arrow said with a dangerous edge to his voice.

“The Red sunlight we used to make her mortal is wearing off. Soon, her cells will be so desaturated we won’t be able to perform the surgery.” Zoom explained.

“So fix it!” Dark Arrow growled.

“I can’t. Miss Smoak has encrypted it, only she can.” Zoom explained.

Felicity, from where she stood next to Winn and Iris, all three at gun point gulped as Dark arrow turned around to face her. She did not like the look in his eye.

Earth-X  
Same time

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” Quentin asked as Oliver eyed the portal.

“No, that will be all.” Oliver dismissed him.

“Before I go, I have something for you, my Fuhrer. Something to celebrate your return,” Quentin said and Oliver shrugged, deciding to get this over with ad Quentin turned around, “comes!”

Three guards came in, forcibly bringing in a woman in a prison uniform. Oliver could not fight the look of shock and horror that crossed his face for a split second at the sight of her but schooled it back into a more neutral expression as she was forced on her knees.

“I know how much you dislike rule breakers and she has broken many of them. I know you wanted to keep her alive as long as possible to suffer for her betrayal, but I thought you might finally like the pleasure of killing her and sending her corpse to Roy Harper, to finally break him.” Quentin said casually.

Oliver barely heard him as he stared at Thea, his Speedy, his beloved little sister, the person he cared about most in this world after William. She looked up at him, a broken, terrified look in her eyes as she stared at him and a knife pierced Oliver’s heart. 

Quentin handed Oliver his pistol and Oliver took it, trying desperately to keep his face blank. Oliver stepped forward and Thea closed her eyes, as if trying to imagine something else. Oliver raised the gun, as if to fire at her, then whirled around, turning the gun on Quentin. He tried to fire but he only heard the click of the gun. The Nazi trained their gun on him as Quentin smirked.

“Did you really think I would hand you a loaded weapon before I verified who you are!?” Quentin shouted.

Oliver suddenly slugged him and rushed a Nazi, grabbed his weapon and kicking him down. He whirled around, opening fire as Nazis fled. He kicked another one down, fired before grabbing another one, putting him under the barrel of the gun and firing, killing him. He tossed the Nazi to the floor and, seeing the room was clear, rushed to Thea. As he laid a hand on her shoulder, she pushed him away, clearly terrified and he backed up.

“Hey hey hey, it’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you,” Oliver said, kneeling down in front of her and she eyed him wearily as he held out the gun in front of her, “I want you to take this and go.”

“Why?” Thea asked still untrusting of him, understandably so.

“Because I am the big brother. I’m just sorry I haven’t been that good at it on this earth.” Oliver said, continuing to offer her the gun. 

She eyed him wearily but finally took it. She jumped up and ran as Oliver got to his feet.

“Clear.” Oliver said as Barry sped in.

“How’d it…go?” Barry said as he looked around at the dead Nazis.

“Damn it,” Oliver said as he saw the damaged machinery, “Barry, we have a problem, the gateway’s control’s been damaged.”

“We can’t turn it on?” Barry asked alarmed.

“We can’t turn it on from here but there should be a manual override at the platform.” Oliver explained and Barry sighed.

“Then we’re gonna have to fight our way through.” Barry said grimly.

Outside, Laurel and Sara were making their way through the facility outside when Sara’s comms went off.

“Yeah?” Sara answered.

“Get out of there Sara, one of our freedom fighters went rouge and sent the weapon without my permission.” Roy said and Sara’s blood ran cold.

“What, turn it back now Roy!” Sara shouted.

“You know I can’t do that even if I wanted to.” Roy told her.

“They haven’t gone through yet!” Sara protested.

“It’s too late now Sara, the only thing we can do is get out of there!” Roy snapped before ending the call.

“What’s going on Sara?” Laurel asked as she looked over at her.

“We’ve got a problem. A weapon is on its way.” Sara said grimly.

“A weapon, like a missile?” Laurel inquired on edge.

“Not exactly.” Sara sighed.

In the distance, a red robot with a tornado swirling around it flew towards the facility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first time I watch the third part of the crossover, I’ll admit, I didn’t make it all the way through. The part where I lost all interesting is seeing the crossover completely was when Earth-X Felicity showed up. That was fan service in its finest. Even if, by some miracle, the Jews were not completely extinct on this earth, Felicity’s parents would never have met or her grandparents would have perished. Either way, Felicity would never have been born on this earth. 
> 
> Originally, I was going to have Earth-X Roy being the one here, but since Roy ended up the general, Thea took his place. If you noticed, it was never really confirmed by Sara that Earth-X Thea was dead, that was just what Dark Arrow told everyone.


	11. Escape from Earth-X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Felicity attempts to keep the Earth-Xers from turning the power back on, the heroes make a final attempt to return to Earth-1.

Earth-1, Star Labs  
Same time

“You are going to tell me how to turn the power back on Ms. Smoak.” Dark Arrow said as he eyed Felicity.

“Not gonna happen.” Felicity said and Dark Arrow flashed an unpleasant smile.

“You know, I was actually hoping you’d say that. Slade, please give her a small taste of what will happen if she does not comply.” Dark Arrow said coolly and Terminator smirked.

“With pleasure.” Terminator said as he drew his sword. 

He then circled Felicity and she closed her eyes. However, she was not his target. Terminator whirled, bring his sword down. Winn cried out in pain as his hand suddenly fell to the floor, Felicity’s eyes snapping open as she stared in horror at Winn’s severed hand.

“Next, I’m going to cut off his other hand. Then, his feet. Then, I’m going to remove his organs, starting with the kidney and working my way up. And I will continue to see how long I can keep him alive until you finally tell me what the code is. Unless you tell me right now. So, how much will you allow him to suffer?” Terminator smirked sadistically. 

“Don’t give it to them.” Winn protested shakily as Terminator raised is sword above his head, preparing to cut off Winn’s other hand.

“Latte, Ada, Jonas, 1-1-9-0-0.” Felicity said quickly, not wanting to see Winn suffer.

Zoom quickly put in the code and the light came back on.

“Excellent. Now, take them down to the pipeline and execute them,” Dark Arrow ordered Terminator, “And leave Ms. Smoak for last. I want to make her see what her ego in thinking she could defy me has done.”

Earth-X  
Same time

“Okay, we have ten minutes until Red Tornado gets here. There’s nothing we can do to stop him.” Sara explained as she, Snart, Barry, Oliver, and Ray stood in the darkened room with alarms blaring.

“Then we need to reopen the gateway before that happens,” Oliver ordered, “Barry, Ray-”

“We know, stop a flying robot…somehow.” Barry finished lamely and Oliver nodded.

“Good. The rest of us here will open the breach.” Oliver ordered.

“That’s the whole plan?” Sara asked incredulously.

“Well, as I’m always saying, make a plan. Execute the plan. Expect the plan to go off the rails. Throw away the plan.” Snart said and Sara and Ray stared at him incredulously.

“How are you still alive?” Sara wondered.

“Sara, this is the only play we have right now.” Oliver told her and Sara sighed.

“Alright Ollie, let’s do this.” Sara reluctantly gave in.

“We’re on Tornado watch.” Barry said before he grabbed Ray and sped them out of there.

“If we’re gonna do this, we should do it in style.” Sara said as she threw a duffle bag on the ground. 

She knelt down and unzipped it, pulling out a bow and handing it to Oliver before reaching back in, taking out an exact replica of a Cold Gun and handing it to Snart.

“Where’d you get the bow and quiver?” Oliver asked as he twirled his bow.

“Roy likes to collect weapons” Sara said simply and Oliver nodded.

“And this? Snart asked gesturing to the Cold Gun and Sara smiled sadly.

“It belonged to our Leonard Snart, we called him Leo. He died a few months ago.” Sara explained.

“Then let’s make sure his sacrifice wasn’t in vain. Let’s go to war.” Oliver ordered.

Not long after, Quentin was standing guard over the gateway with several Nazi soldiers taking aim at the entrance hen the doors were blasted open. The Nazis were sent flying back as a blast of fire entered the room, followed shortly by fire storm. Oliver, Snart, Laurel, and Sara entered the room, Oliver firing arrow after arrow, Snart firing his cold gun, and the Lance sisters firing off assault rifles. The first wave off Nazis were completely obliterated, but as more rushed in, the four heroes fled to take cover.

Not far from the building, Barry was running as Ray flew beside him next to a train.

“Here we go!” Ray shouted as they saw their target.

Ray flew right up to Red Tornado and fired off a blast of energy but the robot dodged it. Red Tornado flew passed Ray but Ray was quickly on its tail. It tried to lose Ray but flying over the train but Ray blocked its way by standing in the way of its path. Barry jumped up, grabbed Red Tornado, and dragged it to the grounding, Hero and Robot landing hard on the ground.

Back at the building, Jax and Stein had decided to unmerge so Jax could hotwire the gateway and Stein could activate it. While Jax had been hotwiring it, Stein was stuck behind a weapons barrel, hiding from Nazis.

“Gray, we got power!” Jax shouted after hotwiring it.

However, Nazis spotted him and opened fire. Stein could only watch in horror as Jax was forced to take cover under a desk, fleeing from the Nazis as they road on an army car.

“Ray!” Barry shouted as Red Tornado suddenly took off into the sky, a cyclone whirling around them. “A little help here!”

Ray took off after them but Red Tornado suddenly shot off a blast of Tornado, which hit Ray full blast. Ray was sent falling towards the ground as Red Tornado managed to knock Barry off it’s back. Barry was sent falling to the ground but, luckily, he was caught by Ray. The two landed on the ground and Red Tornado took off towards its destination.

“Oh crap.” The pair said in union.

Oliver fired off an arrow, getting a Nazi in the chest before he jumped onto a car, firing another arrow and getting another Nazi. Snart fired his Cold Gun, getting another Nazi as Sara and Laurel took cover behind army truck, avoiding the barrage of bullets as Oliver and Snart took cover behind a car as Nazis opened fire on them.

“Gray get down!” Jax shouted as he took cover. 

Seeing the level to activate the gateway, Stein instead made a decision. Stein rushed as fast as his aged body would allow him towards the lever. However, this proved to be a mistake.

Stein heard a gunshot and cried out as a searing pain shot through his back. Stein fell on his side as Jax moved to help him but was forced back by the barrage of bullets.

“Gray no!” Jax shouted as he was forced back by the gunfire. “Gray’s hit, we gotta get him out of there!”

“Barry where are you!” Oliver shouted over the comms.

“Just tying up some loose ends!” Barr said as he and Ray were in hot pursuit of Red Tornado.

“If we don’t stop him, he’s gonna blow up our only ticket home!” Ray pointed out.

“Not to mention us!” Sara added, exchanging fire with some Nazis.

As Laurel used her Canary cry to push them back and Snart fired his Cold Gun at other Nazis, Stein managed to pull himself on his back and was dragging himself over to the activation lever.

“Gray! Stay down!” Jax shouted but Stein ignored him. “Gray no!”

Everyone looked over to see Stein pull himself up to a position where he could pull the lever. He got shot one more time and gasped n pain but still held up.

“Fall back! Fall back!” One of the Nazis ordered but it was too late.

Stein managed to pull the lever and a stream of red-white energy burst up, hitting them. They shimmered for a moment before they burst into nothingness. The light faded and a red breach opened up behind where they had stood.

“Barry, the breach is open, where are you?” Oliver demanded as they all headed to Stein.

“We gotta take this guy out now!” Barry explained.

“Throw another lightning bolt!” Ray told him.

“We already tried that.” Barry reminded him.

“Just do it. Trust me.” Ray pleaded.

Barry sighed but decided to go with it. Barry sped off, running in a circle to build up the charge. He felt the electricity gather in his hand and held it, knowing it was time.

“Now!” Ray shouted.

Barry threw the lightning bolt and Ray fired a blast of energy at it. The super charged lightning was sent hurtling into Red Tornado, striking him full force. The robot went down hard and Ray landed next to Barry as Red Tornado exploded.

“Barry, Stein is hurt, get over here.” Laurel said over the comms as they crowded around Stein.

“He’s alive but we need to get him help, now.” Sara said.

“It’s too dangerous to move him in his condition.” Laurel argued.

“Not if he’s Firestorm,” Snart pointed out, “Gideon can fix him. I’m not losing any more of my crew today.”

“Gray, Gray!” Jax said, kneeling down next to Stein and holding out his hand.

Stein weakly took his hand and, in a flash, they were Firestorm once more.

“Thanks for your help.” Oliver said as they began walking towards the breach.

“I’m not done yet. My enemies are still on your earth Ollie.” Sara said as she began following them. 

The five of them made their way into the breach, Ray flying in and Barry speeding in just before it closed.


	12. Rescue at Star Labs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before The Earth-Xers can take Kara's heart, unexpected help arrives.

Earth-1, Star Labs  
Night

Weakly, Kara opened her eyes and looked around. Dark Arrow was standing at the edge of her bed and, hearing shuffling, Kara turned her head to see Zoom, dressed in a surgical gown, turning around with surgical tools. 

“You know, the love of my life was a doctor,” Zoom told her as he picked up a scalpel, “She would often tell me how her favorite part was the sound of metal cutting through the bones of her victims. I never understood that until I picked up the practice after she was taken from me. I’m going to enjoy this.”

As he was about to make the first cut, an arrow suddenly flew in, hitting the wall. As Dark Arrow and Zoom looked up, it exploded in a bright flash, blinding them. As they stumbled back, The Atom flew in, blasting both of them with blue beams. As they were thrown back, The Atom flew over to Kara’s bed and tore off the straps holding her down.

“Ray?” She questioned as she sat up.

“Hi! We got Felicity’s message.” He said and Kara’s eyes widened.

“She, Iris, and Winn are in the pipeline about to get killed!” Kara said as Ray helped her to her feet.

“Do not worry Miss Danvers,” Kara looked over to see an exotic woman dressed in black with long black hair and dark eyes wielding a bow and arrow, “they will be safe.”

In the pipeline, Terminator was circling Felicity, Iris, and Winn, who were on their knees.

“You know, I just couldn’t decide which of you I was going to kill first,” Terminator said before drawing his sword, “but you know, Mr. Schott killed two of my men. So I’m going to start with you!”

Winn closed his eyes, anticipating the blow as Terminator tried to bring his sword down on Winn’s head. However, a sword seemed to come out of nowhere and ended up blocking it. Terminator looked over at the owner as Winn opened his eyes and Iris and Felicity stared in shock.

“I don’t think so.” Slade said, pushing back against Terminator’s sword. 

Slade forced his counterpart back and Iris, Felicity, and Winn stood up and ran as they realized Slade was giving them the opportunity to escape.

“Pathetic!” Terminator snarled as back, sending a kick to Slade’s chest and Slade just barely managed to use his sword to block Terminator’s next strike. “You would protect those weaker than yourself? You really are a hero Slade.”

“I am no hero.” Slade snarled as he struck at Terminator with his sword.

Felicity and Iris were helping Winn down the hall when they ran into Atom, Nyssa and Kara.

“Ray, Kara!” Felicity exclaimed relieved.

“Hey, I got your message. So apparently you’re being invaded by Nazis now?” Atom questioned.

“They’re from Earth-X, they hate everyone, they want to take Kara’s heart, and they have a giant robot.” Felicity explained.

“I fought one of those once,” Atom told them, “little known fact, this suit doesn’t just shrink-”

Atom suddenly whirled around, his hand growing to huge size. Atom slammed the Nazi behind him against the wall before letting him go, his hand returning to normal size as the Nazi fell to the floor, unconscious.

“It embiggens.” Atom finished.

“We need someone to lock the Time Vault.” Felicity realized.

“I got it.” Iris volunteered.

“Not alone. I shall accompany you.” Nyssa said in a tone that left no room for argument. 

Slade and Terminator exchanged strikes, their swords simply appearing as two flashes of metal. Then, Terminator jumped aside, just barely dodging a shard of ice. Terminator looked up to see Killer Frost, Cisco, and Nate walked up behind Slade with Roy and Thea lingering behind them. Making a decision, Terminator pulled out a small, black ball and threw it down. There was a flash that blinded them and, when it faded, Terminator was gone.

“Thank you for your assistance.” Slade said as he put his sword back in the sheath he wore on his back.

“Why are we helping this guy?” Cisco demanded as he and Frost eyed him wearily.

“Because, as hard as this is to believe, Slade’s on our side now,” Roy spoke up, “What are you doing here?”

“When I got the kid’s call, I headed here. Ms. Michaels called me, told me to pick up a few friends of ours on the way. I ran into Mr. Haywood and these Legends as we both arrived.” Slade explained.

In the med-bay, Dark Arrow took off Overgirl’s oxygen mask.

“I need you to wake up Kara.” He said, stroking her cheek as he stared at her lovingly.

He heard the sound of a speedster entering the room and looked p to see Zoom standing behind him.

“Kara’s life is no longer safe Oliver.” Zoom warned him.

“I’m aware. Retreat to the troop carrier and prepare for the invasion.” Dark Arrow ordered, all signs of his humanity vanishing as he looked over at him.

“Without you?” Zoom questioned.

“I’m staying. Supergirl is not leaving here alive.” Dark Arrow growled.

“Easy Oliver,” Terminator said as he walked in, “do not let emotion cloud your judgement.”

“I’m not.” Dark Arrow denied, not losing his temper, as Terminator was the only one besides Overgirl he would allow to question him. 

“I should hope not. We have our orders.” Terminator said as he looked over at Zoom.

Zoom nodded and, in a blur of blue lightning, the two disappeared. Dark Arrow looked back at Overgirl, who was starting to come around.

“I’ll be back with your heart.” He promised before moving out.

“So this is Earth-1.” Sara mused as they stepped through the breach.

“We need to split up. Find Kara, find our friends, and let’s get out of here.” Oliver ordered.

“I got Supergirl.” Atom said over the comms.

“We’ve got group B.” Nate said in the speed lab as Amaya, Zari, and Helena walked in.

“Where’s everyone else?” Amaya asked and noticed a silence as those held prisoner exchanged uneasy glances. “Where’s Mick?”

Gratefully, or unfortunately, depending how you look at it, the glass shattered and everyone looked over to see Metallo jump down.

“What the hell is that?!” Cisco cried out. 

“How much further Ray?” Felicity asked as she and Atom helped Kara into the breach room, Winn trailing behind.

“You two know each other?” Kara questioned.

“We used to date.” They said in union.

“Now that has to be awkward.” Winn joked weakly as he fingered his stump.

“We can give you back your hand you know.” Ray said as he looked back at Winn.

Suddenly, an arrow went into the back of Atom’s suit. He granted in pain as he was electrocuted and went down. Winn, Kara, and Felicity turned around to see Dark Arrow lower his bow.

“Step away from her.” He ordered.

“There’s no way.” Felicity said as she stood in front of Kara.

Felicity obviously had more to say, but it didn’t matter. Dark Arrow quickly fired another arrow, which went into Felicity’s chest. She gasped pain before falling on her side, staring without seeing. Winn jumped back as Kara stared horrified.

“Now, you’re going to come with me Supergirl,” Dark Arrow said as he notched an arrow and took aim at Winn, “or he dies next.”

“Lower your weapon!” They looked over to see Oliver holding a very awake Overgirl to him, a knife to her throat. “Or she dies next.”

“There’s no giving up to these guys!” Slade said as they all took cover from Metallo’s blasts. 

The Ray and Firestorm flew in, throwing their respective blasts at him. Caitlin turned into Killer Frost and she and Cisco jumped up.

“Let’s kick some ass!” Cisco shouted as they attacked.

Cisco fired blue blasts at the same time as The Ray and Firestorm. All three hit Metallo as Laurel unleashed her Canary cry on the robot. Barry suddenly sped in, throwing a lightning bot. It hit Metallo and the robot exploded.

“Her neck doesn’t look invulnerable now.” Oliver taunted.

“Just kill her!” Overgirl shouted as Dark Arrow hesitated.

“We have friends at Star Labs; it doesn’t have to end this way.” Oliver tried to reason.

“Yes…I’m afraid it does!” Dark Arrow snarled as he turned his bow on Kara and fired.

However, the arrow didn’t get far when it was suddenly frozen in midair, suspended in ice.

“Hey, you bastard. You and I have a score to settle.” Snart sneered as he took aim at Dark Arrow.

Suddenly, a black blur sped in and took Overgirl and Dark Arrow, vanishing with them.

“What the hell was that?” Ray asked as he stood up, yanking the arrow out of his back.

“That was Barry’s Nazi Doppelganger.” Snart explained as they all stared at Felicity’s body.

“My Doppelganger…has a lot to answer for.” Oliver said grimly as he thought of Sara’s story and the broken, terrified look in Thea’s eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first got the idea for this, I wasn’t going to kill Felicity, I swear. But then I watched the last part of the crossover and I just had to. Not even for the double wedding crap, as I turned it off before it got to that part, but because of the scene where she tells off Dark Arrow. I mean, seriously, he tells her to stand aside and, when she refuses, instead of just taking her out, he lets her give this speech and compliments it before he tries to kill her, allowing Oliver to come in and save her? Once again, Felicity’s plot armor proves to be the strongest defense in the Arrowverse. 
> 
> Now, a lot has happened over the last several chapters and the characters have not had time to really process it all, especially the people they have lost. Next chapter, we will see the start to grieve those they have lost.


	13. Barry's confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the heroes gather to the Waveridder to heal their wounded, they all take a moment to reflect on those they've lost. Barry makes a confession and Oliver demands answers about Sara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To avoid confusion, Ray Palmer will either be referred to as Palmer or The Atom unless someone is talking to him.

Waveridder

Morning

 

Firestorm flew into the med bay and unmerged into Jax and Stein, who was lying on the bed.

 

“Gideon fix him!” Jax ordered desperately.

 

“His pressure’s dropping, we need to stanch the bleeding.” Caitlin said as she walked in.

 

“Right away Dr. Snow.” Gideon said as she began scanning Stein.

 

“Relax Jax, he’s gonna be fine. Like I said, I’m not losing any more of my crew today.” Snart said as he walked inside, Nate following him.

 

Jax suddenly began coughing up blood and nearly fell before being caught by Nate.

 

“Jax is hit!” Nate cried out as he and Snart helped Jax onto the other bed. “I can’t find an entry wound!”

 

“Look at their vitals,” Caitlin said as she looked at the scans of Stein and Jax, “it must be because of their connection. Even though Jax isn’t injured, their life functions must still be linked somehow.”

 

“How do we unlike them?” Nate demanded.

 

“We can’t, their connection is the only thing keeping the professor alive.” Caitlin explained regretfully.

 

“So what the hell do we do?!” Snart snarled.

 

“Let her do her job.”

 

Everyone turned to see Barry walk in, his cowl down.

 

“There in good hands, let Caitlin do what she’s best at. Trust me, she won’t let you down. She never has for me.” Barry said as she shot Caitlin a look that made her heart race.

 

Nate and Snart hesitated but left Caitlin to her patients. Barry shot Caitlin another look and, for just a moment, Caitlin allowed herself to hope. A thousand things seemed to pass between them before Caitlin looked away, focusing on Jax and Stein. Barry lingered for a moment before he turned and walked out.

 

_Star Labs, a year and several months ago_

_Night_

_“I was afraid I’d never see you again.” Caitlin said after she and Barry were alone, Barry wrapping is arms around her._

_“I know the feeling.” Barry said, leaning back to look at her._

_“He told me you were dead.” Caitlin said in a voice cracking with emotion._

_“I’m not okay? I’m right here.” Barry said, putting his hands on either said of her face and pulling her in until their foreheads were touching._

Now

 

Barry found Cisco in another room, looking down at a picture. Barry walked up behind him and saw it was of Cisco and Harry. Harry had an annoyed look on his face as Cisco laughed at him but still, if you looked close enough, you could see the edges of Harry’s lips turning up in the beginning of a smile.

 

Barry put a hand on Cisco’s shoulder and Cisco turned around to face him. Barry’s heart broke upon seeing the tears in Cisco’s eyes and he drew his friend into a hug. They cried together, grieving for their friend.  

 

Oliver walked into the main area of the ship, seeing Thea, Laurel, and Roy there. He walked over and pulled Thea into a bone breaking hug.

 

“Thank god you’re okay.” Oliver breathed, the image of her Earth-X doppelganger flashing through his mind.

 

“Dig isn’t.” Roy said lowly and Oliver nodded slowly as he let her go.

 

“No, he’s not. But we’re not gonna let him die in vain,” Oliver promised before looking over at Slade, “Thank you for coming, I didn’t ask you to.”

 

“You never have to Kid.” Slade told him.

 

“Well, somethings don’t change, on any earth.” Sara said as she walked in and Slade, Thea, and Roy stared at her.

 

“You guys see her to right?” Roy said and Oliver coughed.

 

“Everyone, meet Sara Lance. From Earth-X.” Oliver introduced.

 

“Good to see you Thea,” Sara smiled slightly before looking over at Roy and straightening unconsciously, “General.”

 

“General?” Roy repeated confused.

 

“On Earth-X, you lead the resistance.” Laurel explained and Roy was stunned as Sara looked over at Slade wearily.

 

“So, you’re the good doppelganger of Terminator.” Sara noted.

 

“Good might be a bit of an overstatement.” Laurel said and Slade shrugged.

 

“She’s not wrong.” Slade said as Nyssa walked in and stopped short.

 

“S-Sara?” Nyssa stammered, staring at her lost love in shock.

 

“Not exactly.” Sara said as she looked over at Nyssa sadly.

 

“This is Sara; she’s from Earth-X.” Oliver said awkwardly, knowing how Nyssa was feeling. It wasn’t any easier for him to see Sara than it was for Laurel.

 

“Nyssa-” Sara began.

 

“Do not speak,” Nyssa said emotionally, pointing at Sara accusingly, “You do not know me.”

 

“In a way I do. There was a Nyssa on my earth to. God I miss her.” Sara said softly with a faraway look in her eyes.

 

“My Doppelganger is dead on your earth?” Nyssa questioned.

 

“Join the club.” Laurel told her.

 

“I miss the Island.” Slade told Oliver, his brain feeling like someone had taken a jack hammer to it.

 

“I know the feeling.” Oliver said dryly.

 

“As Dig would say, our lives were somewhat normal before Barry came along.” Roy said and there was a silence as they remembered their friend.

 

In the dining area, Snart was having a drink of scotch when someone sat down next to him.

 

“Piece of advice: using alcohol to numb your feelings doesn’t help.” Helena said and Snart sneered.

 

“What would you know?” Snart snarled.

 

“A lot actually. My fiancée was killed by a hitman who was following my father’s orders,” Helena said and Snart was quiet, “it took me to a very dark place for a while. Then afterwards, I just couldn’t forgive myself for what I’d done.”

 

“I’m sorry.” Snart said after a moment and Helena shrugged.

 

“We all have demons. The trick is to not let them win.” Helena told him.

 

“I just can’t believe that he’s gone. I keep expecting him to walk around the corner with some sarcastic comment.” Cisco said and Barry nodded.

 

“I know. You never know what might happen. You have to appreciate the people in your life while you still have them.” Barry said and Cisco shot him an odd look.

 

“Is this about Harry or something else?” Cisco inquired.

 

Before Barry could respond, Amaya walked in.

 

“Cisco, we need your help with something. It’s important.” Amaya said.

 

“Go on.” Barry said when he saw Cisco hesitant.

 

Cisco nodded and followed Amaya out. Not long after, Iris walked in.

 

“Hey.” Barry said awkwardly, not that Iris noticed as she hugged him.

 

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Iris said, trying to pull him on for a kiss but Barry moved at the last second so she got his cheek instead of his lips.

 

“Me to. Glad you’re okay, that is,” Barry said nervously as Iris looked at him confused, “Iris, I need to go check on Stein and Jax.”

 

“I’ll come with you.” Iris said.

 

“No!” Barry said sharply and Iris looked at him in surprise. “No.” He said again in a calmer voice. “I need to talk to Caitlin about something private.”

 

“Private?” Iris repeated, not understanding why he was keeping this from her.

 

“Something that has nothing to do with you.” Barry said and she looked at him hurt as he walked out of the room.

 

“This is so weird and cool at the same time.” Winn said staring in fascination as Gideon restored his hand.

 

“How’s the professor?” Kara asked, looking away from Winn to where Stein lay sleeping, Jax standing over him.

 

“Professor Stein will make a full recovery.” Gideon said.

 

“He just needs some rest.” Caitlin added and Jax breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“That’s good to hear.” Barry said as he walked in.

 

“You’re telling me man.” Jax said as Caitlin looked away from Barry.

 

“Something you need Barry?” Caitlin said stiffly.

 

“Yeah, can we talk somewhere? Privately?” Barry inquired.

 

For a moment, it looked like Caitlin would deny him. But it was only for a moment and she walked out, Barry following her.

 

“Well, that was familiar.” Winn mentioned and Kara shot him a look.

 

“What do you mean?” Kara asked confused.

 

“Well, that was kind of how you and Mon-El acted before you two got together. Like, there was always some tension or whatnot between you to.” Winn explained and Kara winced but looked after Caitlin and Barry with a feeling of worry for what it could mean.

 

“So, what do you guys need me for exactly?” Cisco asked as Amaya and Zari led him down the hall.

 

“Hunting Nazis. Meet our resident Earth-X expert: The Ray.” Amaya said as he was led into a room with Ray.

 

“But uh, you can use my real name: Ray Terrill.” Ray held out a hand for Cisco and Cisco took it.

 

“So, you’re code name is your name with the word ‘The’ in front of it? Lame.” Cisco said unimpressed.

 

“Well what’s your code name?” Ray asked slightly insulted.

 

“Vibe. But we can give you a new code name later, where are we with the Nazis?” Cisco asked as he looked over at Amaya and Zari.

 

“They vanished. Owing to the fact that they have their own Waveridder.” Amaya explained and Cisco stared incredulously.

 

“A Nazi Waveridder? That would be so cool if it wasn’t so terrifying.” Cisco said with a shudder.

 

“Yeah, we’ve been tracking them using the radiation given off by Overgirl due to her exposure to-” Zari started.

 

“The mega ton of solar radiation. Are these readings right?” Cisco asked as he walked over to the screen behind them.

 

“Yeah, why? “Zari asked confused.

 

“Because if these readings are right, they need Kara’s heart for more than to just save Overgirl. If they don’t give her Kara’s heart, she’ll blow like the Death Star after Luke Skywalker hit it with a proton torpedo. And the mid-west will be everyone on board.” Cisco explained to their horror.

 

Barry led Caitlin into the captain’s office.

 

“Gideon, could you lock the doors and not tell anyone we’re here?” Barry asked as he closed the door behind them.

 

“Of course Mr. Allen.” Gideon said and they could hear the doors lock behind them.

 

“What do you want Barry?” Caitlin asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

 

“You’re mad at me,” Barry noted, “Can’t say I blame you, not after all I’ve put you through. But I just…I need to tell you something.”

 

“Well I’m listening, so get on with it.” Caitlin said having a feeling she’d be regretting this.

 

“There was a moment on Earth-X where I thought I was going to die,” Barry said and she stared in shock, “And when I did, my last thought…I expected it to be of Iris. But it wasn’t. It was of you Cait.”

 

“What?” Caitlin asked confused.

 

“I’m in love you Caitlin,” Barry said and she stiffened in shock, “I’ve loved you for longer than I’ve wanted to admit to myself. But I can’t lie to myself anymore Caitlin.”

 

“No, you’ve had a near death experience, that’s all.” Caitlin said her heart sinking as she cursed herself for having hope.

 

“I was feeling this way before I ended up on Earth-X,” Barry said and she looked surprised, “I was feeling this way before Iris walked down that aisle. I was so…conflicted about marrying her. I couldn’t figure out why because I wouldn’t admit it to myself. The reason is because I love you Caitlin.”

 

“But…Iris. You-you asked her to marry you.” Caitlin said her voice shaking and Barry nodded.

 

“I did. And I could marry her. I can still picture a future with her. We’d have a good life together. But…my heart just wouldn’t be in it. Because while I love Iris, I’m not in love with her,” Barry was finally able to admit to himself, “How can I when I’m in love with someone who is kind, caring, smart, brave, and has the biggest heart I have ever known? Someone who is just…amazing in every way you can imagine.”

 

“But…you broke up with me. You left me and then you went to Iris and you didn’t even care about me!” Caitlin said, tears springing to her eyes as she remembered the months where Barry didn’t even seem to know she was alive.

 

“I did break up with you,” Barry admitted, “I was so broken after my dad I couldn’t be with anyone. And I needed to see where things went with Iris because I didn’t want to wake up one day filled with all these regrets, none of us deserved that. As for making you think I didn’t care about you…there’s nothing I regret more. I don’t have any excuse to justify my actions other than I got so wrapped up in Iris that I forgot who I was. And who was important to me. And for that, I am sorry Cait. More than you’ll ever know.”

 

“Why are you telling me this now?” Caitlin asked quietly.

 

“Because, if the past few days have taught us anything, it’s that we never know what’s going to happen. I’m not sure if any of us will live to see tomorrow. So I had to make sure you knew how I felt about you. And do this one more time.” Barry said as she walked over to her and took her face in his hands.

 

Caitlin knew that she should stop this. That he was still with Iris and, although she didn’t particularly care for the woman, this was wrong. But, after the man she had spent over a year telling herself didn’t love her anymore finally telling her what she longed to hear, she listened to her heart instead of her head. So she let Barry put her into a kiss, throwing her arms around his neck and running her hand through his hair as he wrapped her arms around her.

 

“This brings back memories.” Slade said as he walked in with a bottle of liquor.

 

“Australian rum.” Oliver chuckled as he brought out some glasses.

 

“We sure we should be drinking right now?” Thea asked as she, Laurel, and Roy walked ver.

 

“Might be our last chance.” Roy said as he picked up a glass Slade pour.

 

"I don't drink." Laurel said and Slade nodded in understanding. "What should we drink to then?" Slade asked once he poured four glasses. 

 

“To John and Felicity,” Oliver toasted, “may they finally know peace, wherever they are.”

 

“To Miss Smoke and Mr. Diggle.” Slade raised his glass as well and the five of them clicked glasses before taking a drink.

 

“Three superheroes and an ex-supervillain sharing drinks together. I’m pretty sure there’s a joke in their somewhere.” Thea said after they swallowed.

 

“A twisted one.” Palmer said as he walked in, glaring at Slade.

 

“Ray-” Oliver began.

 

“I should chuck you off this ship.” Palmer sneered.

 

“It’s in mid-flight.” Slade pointed out.

 

“Don’t let that stop you.” Palmer snapped.

 

“Have I done something to wrong you?” Slade inquired.

 

“When you and your army laid siege to Starling City, one of your men killed my fiancée.” Palmer said and a look of remorse crossed Slade’s face.

 

“I was under the influence of a drug called Mirakuru. It drove me insane.” Slade explained.

 

So what, you’re trying to say it wasn’t your fault?!” Palmer snarled, taking a threatening step towards Slade.

 

“No. I take full responsibility for everything I did as Deathstroke. But I’m not that man anymore. All I can say is that I am truly sorry for all the pain I have caused you.” Slade said his face full of remorse.

 

Palmer stared at him stonily before nodding. Not quite accepting or forgiving, but choosing not to turn his rage on him. Palmer turned to walk away when Oliver’s voice stopped him.

 

“Ray,” Oliver called out and Palmer looked over his shoulder, “I want to ask you something.”

 

“What?” Palmer asked wearily as he turned around.

 

“When we were on Earth-X, we ran into someone from the resistance: the Earth-X Doppelganger of Sara Lance,” Oliver explained and noted how Palmer stiffened, “Jax and Stein froze when they saw her. And I have a feeling you know why that is.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Palmer denied but Oliver was not fooled.

 

“You’re a bad liar Ray. You know Sara. Not just from time travel either, you know her well. Only seeing someone you love that you thought you’d lost could cause that kind of reaction. Tell me Ray, how do you guys know Sara?” Oliver demanded as he walked closer to Palmer.

 

“I don’t know what you’re walking about.” Palmer repeated.

 

Out of patience, Oliver slugged Palmer in the abdomen.  Palmer doubled over in pain before Oliver grabbed him by the front of his shirt. He walked them towards the wall and slammed Ray against the wall.

 

“Oliver, what are you doing?” Barry asked as he and Caitlin walked out of the captain’s office.

 

“They know my sister Barry,” Laurel said as she, Thea, and Roy looked very interested in what was happening, “they know Sara and they aren’t talking.”

 

“You know Sara Ray. I don’t know how, but you do. So tell me how Ray. Tell me!” Oliver snarled and Ray winced, just knowing he was going to get in trouble with the others for what he was about to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clear up any confusion, the flashback in this chapter takes place in 2x22 of Flash after Caitlin returns to Star Labs. 
> 
> Stein is not dying in this fic; I never had any intention of killing him here. Because, I’m gonna be perfectly honest, his death makes no sense except for plot over logic. Now, while the Stein/Jax plot is the only consistently well written thing throughout the entire crossover and Stein’s death scene is only outdone by the death scenes of Nora Allen and Moira Queen in the Arrowverse, it makes no sense when you stop to think about it.
> 
> Because The Waveridder can travel through time, can regrow severed limbs, can bring you back to life from a snapped neck, but is unable to heal a bullet wound? Is that right? Oh but wait! It totally healed Diggle in Invasion after he’d been shot. And it also healed Sara after she’d been shot by evil Rip Hunter later that season! And her wound was far worse than Diggle’s.
> 
> So, once again the Arrowverse writers show their lack of regard for their own continuity and love of plot over logic. 
> 
> Looks like a certain secret is about to come out, doesn’t it?


	14. Sara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Arrow reels from the secret about Sara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is such a short chapter, but I felt the secret of Sara should be its own chapter.

Waveridder  
Afternoon

Stunned, Oliver released Palmer after he had told them everything. There was complete silence in the room as everyone absorbed what Palmer had told them.

“Sara was alive?” Laurel asked, her voice trembling. 

“She was, yeah.” Palmer said, not able to look at Laurel.

“So let me get this straight,” Oliver said as he ran a hand over his face. “We used the Lazarus pit to bring Sara back to life?”

“Laurel did. She came back with some issues, so you called in a friend of yours, Josh Colanstine?” Palmer tried to remember.

“John Constantine.” Oliver said lowly and Palmer snapped his hand.

“Yeah, that’s it! Anyway, after he helped her through some issues, Rip recruited her along with me, Snart, Mick, Stein, Jax, Kendra and Carter at the start of our mission.” Palmer explained. 

“Why didn’t this happen in this new timeline?” Thea asked, her own voice trembling.

“Because of you,” Palmer said and Thea started as Roy gripped her hand. “In the original timeline, you suffered from a side effect of the pit called the bloodlust. It drove you to kill until you were eventually cured of it. Because of this, Laurel found out about the pit and went to Nanda Parbat, eventually convinced Malcolm Merlyn to use it on Sara.”

“Which never happened in this timeline.” Roy noted and Palmer nodded.

“What else is different Ray?” Oliver demanded, the first words he’s spoken since Palmer had started to explain about Sara, and Palmer hesitated. “What else?!”

“Well, as I already said, Laurel is alive,” Palmer gestured over to the silent Laurel. “She also has powers; her father is still Captain of the SCPD instead of your deputy mayor. Roy’s name has been cleared and he’s back in Star City. Thea and Dig left Team Arrow for some personal time but only Dig came back. You ended up recruiting a whole new team, one of which ended up signing on with Prometheus and another ho took up Laurel’s mangle, both of which obviously didn’t happen here. Felicity was still in Star City and still part of Team Arrow. I’m sure there are more but I think that’s how your lives have been affected.”

“Why didn’t you tell us this before Ray?” Barry demanded and Palmer sighed.

“We thought it would only cause you pain. And ignorance is bliss, right?” Palmer joked weakly but no one was laughing.

“You should have told us,” Oliver snarled, his face full of rage. “Just…get out of my sight Ray. Before I do something I regret.”

With one last apologetic look towards Laurel, Palmer walked out; leaving them alone to process the news they were just delivered.

“Well, this is certainly…something.” Slade said for lack of a better word.

“We can bring her back,” Laurel said and they all looked at her. “You heard Ray, all we have to do is put her in the pit and you can call this Constantine and he’ll bring her back to herself.”

“Laurel, we can’t.” Oliver sighed.

“Ollie, please. You did the same thing for Thea.” Laurel pleaded as she made her way over to her boyfriend.

“Laurel, it’s not that I won’t. It’s that I can’t.” Oliver tried to explain.

“After I disbanded the League, Nyssa didn’t want the pit falling into the wrong hands,” Thea began as Laure looked over at her. “So she destroyed it.”

“Then let’s have the Legends take us back to when the pit was still active, before Nyssa destroyed it.” Laurel said desperately.

“Laurel, we can’t do that.” Barry spoke up gently. 

“Why the hell not?!” Laurel demanded as she whirled around, rage and pain in her eyes.

“Because there’s a price to pay for changing the timeline,” Barry said bluntly. “I paid that price when I created Flashpoint. Sara paid it when she killed Damien Darhk to save your life. Whenever someone changes the timeline, either for good reasons or selfish ones, there is always a price that needs to be paid. We’re not gods Laurel, we have great power. And with that power comes so much responsibility. We can’t just go around changing things because we feel like it. Look at what happened when Sara and I did! I understand what you’re going through; it’s what drove me to create Flashpoint. Just because I messed with the timeline doesn’t make me any less qualified to advise you against doing it. If anything, it makes me more qualified to tell you not to.”

“He’s right Laurel,” Oliver tilted her head and made her look over at him. “I love you and I loved Sara. I would give almost anything to bring her back. But this is one thing I won’t do. Sara is dead; she sacrificed herself to give you your life back. The least we can do is honor that sacrifice by letting her finally rest in peace.”

For a moment, everyone was silent, preparing to fight Laurel on this. Then, she lowered her head, her entire body trembling as they head her sob. Oliver pulled her into his arms, wrapping his arms around her as she buried her face into his shoulder. As Laurel broke down, everyone else left the room, allowing Oliver to comfort his girlfriend as she grieved the loss of her sister one final time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry it’s so short. Next chapter will be the final battle, so needless to say it will be longer.


	15. The battle of Central City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes put aside their differences to make one final stand against the Earth-Xers.

The Waveridder   
Afternoon 

“Nice job Ray, really,” Roy said sarcastically as he, Thea, Slade, Barry, and Caitlin walked into the hall where Palmer, Nyssa, Snart, and Helena were waiting. “If there was a competition for doing something to make sure Oliver Queen hated you, you just won first prize.” 

“Has something happened?” Nyssa inquired confused as Palmer squirmed.

“Sara was alive Nyssa,” Thea said, her voice thick with emotion as Nyssa started. “She was alive but she changed the timeline and as a result, she died again.”

“Why would she change the timeline?” Nyssa asked her voice trembling as she tried to process that he beloved had been alive.

“To save her sister,” Slade said simply.

“She killed the man who would one day kill Laurel. But in doing so, she erased the events that would lead to her own resurrection from history,” Palmer said awkwardly.

“And you guys decided to keep this from us,” Barry said coolly as he glared at Ray and Snart.

“Hey, I didn’t know her,” Snart shrugged.

“We thought that by keeping this a secret, it would save Laurel from a lot of guilt and everyone else from a lot of pain,” Palmer attempted to justify.

“Well they found out anyway, so clearly it wasn’t the right decision!” Barry snapped as Oliver and Laurel walked in.

“You got that right,” Oliver snapped and everyone turned to them.

“Laurel,” Nyssa said, noting Laurel’s red and puffy eyes.

“Nyssa,” Laurel stepped forward. “I’m sorry…so sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for my friend,” Nyssa quickly assured her, walking over and wrapping Laurel in a hug.

As Laurel was comforted by Nyssa, Palmer walked over to Oliver.

“Look Oliver, I’m sorry I kept hat happened with Sara from you. We just did what we thought was best. So…are we cool?” Ray asked hopefully.

“You and I will never be good,” Oliver snapped and Ray’s face fell. “But we have more important things to deal with than petty arguments. The Earth-Xers are gonna use their Waveridder into leveraging us into handing over Kara.”

“How do you know that?” Caitlin asked.

“Because it’s exactly what I’d do,” Oliver said simply. 

The Wellenreiter  
Same time

“I’m sorry,” Overgirl said as she lay on a bed, Dark Arrow by her side.

“For what?” He asked.

“For being so weak,” she said.

“I’ve managed to stabilize her deterioration but without a transplant, she’ll be dead within an hour,” A holographic head, similar to Gideon, appeared and said this.

“Quiet!” Dark Arrow snarled and the hologram faded, Dark Arrow’s eyes softening as he looked over at Overgirl. “Don’t you listen to her. There is more strength in you than in this entire planet of lesser humans combined.”

Dark Arrow then stood and stalked off. He met Terminator and Zoom in the hall.

“Prepare for battle. It’s time we take what is rightfully ours,” Dark Arrow ordered.

The Waveridder  
Slightly later

“Any news on the other Waveridder?” Oliver asked as everyone gathered on the bridge.

“According to the radiation trail from Overgirl, it’s still in Central City,” Cisco explained.

“Which means she’s still on this world,” Ray noted.

“And she’s about to pull a Death Star,” Cisco worried.

“That is not an option,” Oliver said and they all turned to him. “Losing is not an option! We are gonna win and we are gonna show them that this is our earth!”

“Nice speech kid,” Slade smirked.

“Sorry to interrupt Mr. Queen, but we’re being hailed by a fellow time ship,” Gideon suddenly spoke up.

“Patch it through,” Oliver ordered and they all looked at a hologram of Dark Arrow appeared on the consol. 

“We’d like to propose a truce,” Dark Arrow said calmly.

“In exchange for what?” Barry asked wearily.

“We will leave this earth peacefully if you comply with my one demand: Supergirl comes with us,” Dark Arrow said and everyone turned to Kara.

“Even if I did believe you, that’s the difference between you and me: I don’t abandon my friends!” Oliver snarled before he pushed a button, ending the transmission.

“So, everyone ready for this?” Slade asked as he stepped up next to Oliver, his hand on his sword.

“I think we have a score to settle with these Nazis,” Snart said, powering up his cold gun.

“We can’t bring back those we’ve lost, but we can protect their world,” Barry added and Oliver nodded.

“Let’s do this. Slade, you with me?” Oliver asked and Slade smirked.

“Like old times,” Slade quipped.

Central City  
Not long after

It was chaos in the streets. The Wellenreiter flew above the city, sending blast after blast down at the civilians. Dark Arrow and Terminator led their army down on the group, the foot soldiers shooting at innocent civilians. Two police officers tried to stop them but Terminator and Dark arrow easily took care of them, a strike to the chest and an arrow easily killing them.

Then the heroes appeared. From left to right, Helena, Nyssa, Vixen, Roy, Sara, Barry, Nate, Oliver, Palmer, Slade, Snart, Thea, Zari, and Laurel stood in their path and Dark Arrow gestured forward.

“Kill them all!” Dark Arrow ordered as Supergirl, Firestorm, The Ray, and Frost appeared behind the rest of their comrades. 

Then it was on. Oliver and Slade engaged their doppelgangers as everyone else fought the foot soldiers. 

“You are pathetic!” Terminator snarled as he and Slade crossed swords. “You were strong once but now you serve a pathetic man who has let his strength be wasted!”

“I wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand!” Slade snarled as he sent a powerful kick to Terminator’s abdomen, sending his doppelganger back as Slade followed up with a punch and Terminator just barely managed to block Slade’s sword strike. “You have no sense of honor or integrity! I thought I was a monster but you! You are worse than I ever was and I’m going to enjoy killing you!”

“Not if I kill you first!” Terminator snarled as they rushed each other.

As the foot soldiers started throwing grenades at the civilians, Snart used his cold gun to freeze them. One snuck up behind him and was about to shoot him when a cross bow bolt hit his riffle and knocked it out of his hands. Snart turned around and blasted the soldier with his cold gun.

“You should watch your back better,” Helena said casually and Snart scowled.

“Usually got someone watching it for me,” Snart said as his heart sent out a pang for Mick.

“Guess I’ll have to watch it for you,” Helena said as she got another Nazi.

Sara, Laurel, and Nyssa ended up fighting together. Nyssa fired her arrows while Sara fired her assault rifle and Laurel used her Canary Cry. However, they had to duck for cover as the Wellenreiter fired at them.

“We need some back up over here!” Sara said over the comms.

“We got your back,” Winn said as The Waveridder zoomed in.

It’s counterpart took off but the time ship was in hot pursuit.

“This is just like Star Raiders on Atari except its real!” Cisco geeked out from the pilot’s seat. “Launching torpedo one and I have always wanted to say that!”

A blast from the Waveridder hit The Wellenreiter but it seemed to have no effect.

“Is it just me or is this not working?” Iris asked.

“it’s not working,” Cisco and Winn said together.

“We need to take down their shields,” Winn explained.

On the ground, Oliver and Dark Arrow were doing battle on the roof of a car.

“You cannot hope to defeat me!” Dark Arrow laughed as he blocked Oliver’s bow with his own.

“We’ll see!” Oliver snarled as he grabbed Dark Arrow by the arm.

Whirling around, Oliver threw Dark Arrow to the ground. As he landed below on the ground, Oliver notched an arrow and fired. However, Dark Arrow shook it off and used his bow to deflect the arrow. Scowling, Oliver jumped from the car and engaged Dark Arrow on the ground.

Firestorm threw two blasts of fire at the foot soldiers, sending them into the air, either burnt to a crisp or severely injured. Slade and Terminator, both having lost their helmets in the fight, continued to battle it out, appearing only as two blurs of movement. Terminator sent a kick to Slade’s abdomen and Slade stumbled back as Terminator made am over to behead him. However, a red arrow flew out and hit his hand, causing him to lose his sword. Slade struck at him and Terminator jumped away, going for his sword. The two continued their fight as Roy turned back to the foot soldiers.

Barry and Zoom exchanged blows at high speed while all this was going on, neither willing to give an inch but nether seemingly able to overcome the other.

“Kara, we need some help here,” Winn said over the comms.

“Way ahead of you,” Kara said as she flew towards The Wellenreiter. 

“General,” a soldier on the Wellenreiter said to Overgirl. “We have inbound.” 

“Then fire counter-measures,” Overgirl snapped.

“We can’t. It’s hovering directly off our bow,” he said awkwardly.

Overgirl turned to look out the window and seethed as she saw Kara hovering in front of it.

“General, would you care to step outside?” Kara asked.

Seething, Overgirl activated her mask and flew through the window, tackling Kara through the sky.

“Waiting for some good news Winn,” Cisco pleaded.

“I don’t have any. The only way to take out the shield is to get someone on board the Nazi Waveridder,” Winn said frustrated as he looked over the data.

“We’re on our way,” Frost said over the comms as she used her powers to get herself, Vixen, and Zari towards the Wellenreiter. 

Frost glided them over to the broken window and they jumped through it. The Nazis rushed them but Frost used her powers to knock them out while Vixen and Zari used their hand to hand combat skills. Within seconds, the Nazis were down.

“Okay, now what Winn?” Vixen asked.

“Okay, I’m sending you the source to the deflector shields,” Winn said as he looked at the date.

“Okay, got it. Manual override protocol.” Zari read.

“All you need to do is-” Winn began.

“Hit the blinking red button,” Frost said as she walked over to the button and pressed it.

Immediately, they heard the sound of power shutting down.

“Okay got it, the shields are down,” Iris cheered.

“Winn, think you can handle this bad boy?” Cisco asked as he stood up.

“Hell yeah! I am Han Solo and this is my Millennium Falcon,” Winn cheered as he took Cisco’s place.

“Wait, where are you going?” Iris asked.

“To get our friends. Winn, on my signal, hit that thing with everything you’ve got,” Cisco ordered as he opened up a breach. 

While Kara and Overgirl fought in the air and Barry and Zoom fought at high speed, Oliver and Slade fought their Doppelgangers back to back.

“This brings back memories,” Slade noted as he pushed back against Terminators sword back.

“Fighting alongside each other against an enemy. Just like back on Lain Yu,” Oliver grunted as he kicked Dark Arrow in the abdomen.

“Since we can’t seem to defeat our own doubles-” Slade began.

“Switch,” Oliver agreed.

Oliver ducked down and Slade broke away from his standstill with Terminator to whirl around, going for Dark Arrow. Meanwhile, Oliver jumped up and began to fight Terminator with his bow.

“You’re all clear kid, so let’s blow this thing and go home,” Cisco said over the comms and Winn grinned.

“Here it comes!” Winn said as he opened fire.

All the weapons on The Waveridder fired at the Wellenreiter and soon enough, the entire thing was gone in an explosion of fire. A breach opened up behind Winn as Cisco and the others walked out.

“We did it!” Cisco cheered.

On the ground, Barry slammed Zoom against the side of a building, his hand vibrating near Zoom’s chest. Still, Barry hesitated.

“Do it Barry. Do it!” Zoom snarled but Barry still didn’t plunge his hand into Zoom’s chest. “Oh, but I forgot, you’re a hero, you don’t kill. But the thing is, if you don’t kill, I will destroy everything you care about. I wonder who’ll I start with. Cisco? Joe?” Zoom looked him in the eyes and smirked. “Maybe…Caitlin?”

Barry didn’t recall moving his hand, only the sound of piecing his hand into Zoom’s chest. Zoom and Barry both stared at his hand, vibrating in Zoom’s chest. He yanked it out and Zoom coughed up blood.

“Didn’t think you had it in you,” Zoom said dazed as he sunk to his knees, Barry helping him down.

“To be honest, neither did I,” Barry said, still in shock.

“Thank…you,” Zoom breathed before the light left his eyes.

“Kara, you’re Doppelganger’s about to have a melt down!” Winn said over the comms as Overgirl paused the fight, grabbing her head and screaming as her body began to glow.

“What do I do!?” Kara asked panicked.

“Fly her into space, hopefully that’ll stop the explosion from affecting the earth,” Cisco ordered.

Kara nodded, grabbed Overgirl, and flew her up. Everyone not still fighting looked up as she flew into the sky. They lost sight of her, but thy saw the massive orange glow they assumed was the explosion.

Including Dark Arrow. 

“No!” He cried out.

Engaged, he turned back to Slade. However, Slade sidestepped him, grabbed his arm, and tossed the bow out of his hands. Then, Slade plunged his sword into Dark Arrow’s chest. He pulled it out and Dark Arrow coughed up blood, falling to his knees. Then, a blue beam hit him and he weakly fell over as Snart stalked off.

“Mick Rory sends his regards,” Snart sneered before firing at him one last time.

Seeing this, Terminator snarled in rage. However, this gave Oliver an opening. He fired an arrow which Terminator was too distracted to block. It went into his eye and Terminator stilled. He dropped his sword and fell back, the arrow sticking out of his eyes. 

Kara seemed to fall forever before she landed on something hard. She blinked her eyes open, her vision blurry at first. Then, she realized she was in Nate’s arms.

“Nate?” She asked and he shrugged as hiss kin turned from steel to normal.

“I figured it would take the Man of Steel to catch the Girl of Steel. That and a tremendous amount of help,” Nate said as he looked at the crater that had formed around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not entirely proud of this chapter, so sorry if I sucks.


	16. Tying up loose ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Barry make important decisions regarding their futures regarding the women in their life as several people bid goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go after this.

Star Labs

Afternoon

 

“Thank you both for your help,” Oliver told Sara and Ray as the three of them, Nyssa, Laurel, and Cisco stood in the breach room. “Our world owes you both a debt I can never repay.”

 

“It’s my world to,” Ray shrugged.

 

“Nazis are kind of our specialty,” Sara said with a grin.

 

“Well, thank you,” Oliver held out a hand to Ray.

 

Ray shook it and when Oliver turned to do the same to Sara, she instead hugged him.

 

“It was nice to see you again. The version of you I knew was a lot like you, once,” Sara said sadly as she stepped back.

 

“I’m sorry for all the pain he caused you,” Oliver said but Sara waved him off.

 

“It’s okay; it’s not your fault. You need to stop taking responsibility for things that aren’t your fault Ollie,” Sara said as she looked over at Laurel and Nyssa. “I know I’m not your Sara and you aren’t my sister and Nyssa but-”

 

Sara was cut off when Nyssa strode over to her and pulled her into a kiss. For a moment, Sara put her arms around her as they kissed deeply. Then, Nyssa back and put her hands on either side of Sara’s face.

 

“You are not my Sara,” Nyssa agreed as she stared into Sara’s eyes. “But you are close enough. And now…I think I can finally let her go.”

 

“And I can let my Nyssa go,” Sara agreed as she smiled.

 

Nyssa let Sara go and stepped back as Sara looked over at Laurel. The two sisters walked over to each other and stood awkwardly.

 

“I know you aren’t her…but I’ll miss you,” Laurel said and Sara smiled.

 

“I’ll miss you to sis,” Sara said and the Lance sisters hugged.

 

“Alright, ready to go home?” Cisco asked as he stood up.

 

“How does this work?” Ray asked as Laurel and Sara let go.

 

“It’s a very complicated two-step process: One, I open a breach. Two, you go through it,” Cisco explained sarcastically.

 

Cisco then led out his hand and a blue beam shot out. It stopped half way through the room and opened up a blue portal. Ray and Sara walked up to it, Ray flying through but Sara hesitated, looking back at the others.

 

“Take care of your world,” Sara told them.

 

“And you liberate yours,” Oliver said back.

 

Sara nodded and, with a smile, she turned and jumped through the breach. Cisco lowered his hand as the blue portal faded.

 

“Well, that’s a wrap,” Cisco said as he walked off.

 

“Are you okay?” Oliver asked as he put a hand on Laurel’s shoulder.

 

“I’m fine. I know you wanna go check on Barry, go on,” Laurel said with a smile.

 

Oliver, after a moment of hesitation, walked off after kissing her on the forehead. Once he was gone, Laurel’s mask fell and she sighed.

 

“I know she wasn’t my sister…so why is it so hard?” Laurel asked as Nyssa placed a hand on her shoulder.

 

“Because she was in a way,” Nyssa said as she hugged Laurel and Laurel began to sob into Nyssa’s shoulder.

 

Oliver found Barry in the speed lab. Barry was sitting on the steps clearly deep in thought.

 

“Hey, you mind if I sit?” Oliver asked and Barry shrugged.

 

“Free country,” Barry said as Oliver sat down next to him.

 

“You wanna talk about it?” Oliver asked gently.

 

“It’s not like I’ve never killed anyone before…so why does this time feel different?” Barry sighed.

 

“Because there’s a difference between allowing someone to die and actually making that decision, to look into someone’s eyes and decide to end their life. And then actually ending it,” Oliver explained and Barry ran a hand over his face.

 

“You know the worst part? I don’t regret it. Just that it had to be done. My family, Caitlin, Cisco…they were never gonna be safe from him. Does that make me a bad person?” Barry wondered.

 

“Barry Allen, a bad person? Not a chance,” Oliver teased and Barry chuckled before Oliver frowned. “Barry, doing whatever you have to in order to save your family and protect your city doesn’t make you a monster. If you’d enjoyed killing him, that would make you a monster. But you didn’t. You’re one of the best guys I know and no evil speedster from another world or another time is gonna change that.”

 

“Thanks Ollie,” Barry said gratefully and Oliver nodded as Iris walked in.

 

“Hey,” Iris said and a startled Barry jumped to his feet.

 

“Hey!” Barry said the alarm in his voice clear as Oliver covered his amused smirk with his hand. “Oliver, could you please give us a moment?”

 

“Yeah. I should probably find Slade anyway, make sure he hasn’t pissed anyone off,” Oliver said as he got up and walked out.

 

“Hey, you okay?” Iris said concerned and Barry nodded.

 

“I don’t like what I did, but my conscience is clear. I did what I had to, even if I don’t like it,” Barry said and there was an awkward silence in the room. “We need to talk Iris.”

 

“What’s going on Barry?” Iris asked and Barry sighed.

 

“Iris…I can’t marry you,” Barry told her gently.

 

“I know, after all this, I doubt people will want to attend a wedding,” Iris said and Barry sighed again.

 

“Iris, you aren’t hearing me,” Barry said and she looked at him confused. “I can’t marry you today. Or next week, or next month or even next year. I can’t marry you Iris… because I’m in love with someone else.”

 

“W-what?” Iris asked stunned, not quite processing this.

 

“I haven’t been honest with you Iris. To tell you the truth, I haven’t been honest with myself either. I love you Iris, but I’m not in love with you. And to tell you the truth, I’m not convinced you’re in love with me either,” Barry told her gently.

 

 

Barry’s head whipped to the side as Iris’ hand came into contact with his face. Barry put a hand to his face, the red mark on his cheek already healing as he looked at Iris’ pain and anger filled face.

 

“Have you been cheating on me?” Iris asked her voice trembling.

 

“No,” Barry quickly assured her even as he pictured his kiss with Caitlin, reminding him that wasn’t completely true. “I haven’t been having an affair Iris. Back when I thought there wasn’t a chance for us, someone told me that it was time to move on, to find someone new to be crazy about. And, over time, without realizing it, I did. Without realizing it, I fell more and more in love without ever acknowledging it myself. I started this with you because I needed to see where it went. It got farther than I thought it would and I hurt you and Caitlin and for that I am sorry Iris.”

 

“Caitlin? Caitlin is who you’re in love with?” Iris asked in disbelief and Barry winced, knowing he just threw Caitlin under the bus but nodded. “Barry, she’s your best friend, you’re confusing your feelings!”

 

“No, I’m not. After we saw ‘Jay’ die, Caitlin and I started something,” Barry admitted and she stared at him stunned. “We ended it after my dad died because I couldn’t be in a relationship with anyone. But I never forgot how I felt about her while we were together. For the first time in my life since my mom, I was completely happy while I was with her. I know you thought it was The Speed Force that made me feel invincible but it wasn’t. It was her, because she made all the pain I felt from my mom’s death seem…not so bad.”

 

“And you never felt that way with me?” Iris asked her heart breaking as she saw the answer on his face.

 

“No, I didn’t,” Barry said quietly as he saw her face stricken with pain. “I’m sorry Iris.  You deserve someone who can love you with everything they are. But that’s not me. I will always care about you Iris…just not like that.”

 

Barry reached out and caught the ring Iris threw at him as she glared at him.

 

“You and Caitlin…never speak to me again,” Iris hissed before she turned and stormed off.

 

_Star Labs, one year and several months ago_

_Night_

_Barry sat in the pipeline, tear trails on his face. He had been here ever since he had gotten here after Zoom had murdered his father. Caitlin walked up behind him, lingering uncertainly._

_“Either say something or just go,” Barry’s voice came out rougher than he intended it to be._

_“I’m not going to ask if you’re okay, because I know you’re not,” Caitlin said as she sat down next to him. “But I want you to know that I’m here for you.”_

_“I appreciate that Cait, I love you more for it. But I think right now I need to be alone,” Barry said, wiping his eyes and Caitlin’s heart sank._

_“By alone, you mean not with me,” Caitlin realized and Barry nodded._

_“I feel like I need to face this alone. I know that probably sounds stupid,” Barry tried to explain._

_“It doesn’t,” Caitlin was quick to assure him despite the hurt she felt. “If you feel like you have to do this alone, then you do that. Just…don’t push the people who love you away. And I understand why you feel like need to do this, that you need time. But…when you’re ready for me, I’ll be ready for you.”_

Now

 

“Thank you for your help Slade,” Oliver said as he held his hand out to Slade, who shook his hand.

 

“I owed you kid. If you ever need anything, I’m just a call away,” Slade said and Oliver nodded.

 

“That goes both ways,” Oliver said as they dropped hands.

 

“It’s time for me to go. I need to continue my search for my sons,” Slade said as he grabbed a duffle back.

 

“I hope you find what you’re looking for Slade,” Oliver told him.

 

“Me to. See ya around kid,” Slade said as he turned and walked out of the room.

 

Oliver stared after him for several moments before Laurel walked up behind him and took his hand.

 

“You okay?” She asked and Oliver sighed.

 

“Just this, all this, has reminded me we’re not invincible. There’s only so much time we have,” Oliver said with a far off look in his eyes and Laurel looked at him concerned.

 

“Ollie?” She asked uncertainly.

 

Oliver dropped her hand and reached inside his pocket. Laurel was confused until he pulled out a diamond ring.

 

“I picked this up after we dealt with Chase,” Oliver explained as she stared in shock. “At first, I didn’t do anything because we had just found our way back to each other and then it never felt like the right time. But if this has taught me anything, it’s that there will never be a right time.

 

Oliver grabbed her hand and got down on one knee as Laurel stared, in shock that this was finally happening.

 

“Dinah Laurel Lance, you are the love of my life, my partner, my best friend, my conscience. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you, whether it be a day, a month or many years from now. Will you marry me?”

 

“Yes,” Laurel managed to get out as her eyes filled with tears.

 

Oliver smiled and put the ring on her finger before standing up. The two embraced as they kissed deeply. From the doorway, Barry smiled, happy for Oliver. Hearing someone approach from the side, he looked over and saw Joe. From the look on his face, he knew Iris had told him her side of things. Which made him wonder how truthful it was. Iris was a journalist after all.

 

“Hey,” Barry said as he walked away from the door.

 

“Hey,” Joe said calmly.

 

“Iris told you then?” Barry guessed.

 

“She said something about how you’ve been cheating on her with Caitlin?” Joe said confused, finding that hard to believe.

 

“The only way I’ve cheated on her is by not being honest with myself,” Barry paused. “Okay, I may have kissed Caitlin before the final battle with the Earth-Xers but that’s as far as it went Joe, I swear.”

 

“I’m just a little confused here,” Joe said as he and Barry began walking down the hall. “You’ve been in love with Iris for half of your life. Now you’re in love with Caitlin? Help me out Bar.”

 

“After Zoom faked his death, I was helping Caitlin home one night when she kissed me before she passed out, drunk. The next day, I confronted her about it and we agreed to try our shot at a relationship. We didn’t tell anyone because we didn’t want things to get awkward if it didn’t work out,” Barry explained and Joe nodded in understanding. “After my dad died, I felt so broken that I couldn’t be with her, so we ended things. Then Iris wanted to be with me, so I felt like I owed it to myself to see where things led with Iris.”

 

“Okay, so was this whole thing just an attempt to save Iris from Savitar and you didn’t have the heart to tell Iris the truth after you stopped him?” Joe asked and Barry shook his head.

 

“No, when I said I loved Iris I meant it. When I asked her to marry me, I meant it. I was lying to myself as much as I was lying to Iris. I realize now that the way I love Iris is…not the way a husband loves a wife. And that, no matter how I feel about Caitlin, is why I can’t marry Iris Joe,” Barry explained as she turned to Joe, the two men stopping in the hall to face each other. “If you feel like you have to take Iris’ side in this, I understand. I’m sorry I’m not the man you raised me to be.”

 

“Look Bar, this whole situation is…complicated. But the fact that you had the courage to tell Iris that you couldn’t marry her rather than take the coward’s way out and just keep living a lie tells me you are the man I raised you to be,” Joe said as a he put a hand on Barry’s shoulder. “And, no matter what happens, you are my son. And you will never lose me. Ever.” 

 

In the morgue, Caitlin and Wally stood back awkwardly as Jesse stared down at her father’s body.

 

“If you want a moment alone, we can leave,” Caitlin said and Wally seemed more than ready to split.

 

“The last time I talked to him, I kicked him off his team and basically kicked him out of my life,” Jesse said softly, seemingly unaware of the tears streaming down her face. “And now he’s gone.”

 

Jesse began to weep and Wally walked over to her. As Wally took her into his arms, Caitlin made her exit. She walked down the hall and met Barry and Joe.

 

“Hey,” Caitlin greeted as they saw each other.

 

“Hey,” Barry said as he gave a look to her that made her blush.

 

“How’s Jesse?” Joe inquired.

 

“Upset, obviously. She isn’t too happy with how she left things with Harry,” Caitlin explained.

 

“It’s understandable” Joe nodded, remembering Cisco telling him that Jesse had basically kicked Harry out of his own team.

 

“We never know if there’s gonna be a tomorrow. Which is why we need to live for the moment,” Barry said as he continued to look at Caitlin reverently, which Joe noticed.

 

“I should probably get down to the station. Singh probably has a lot of questions about what went down today,” Joe said, nodding them before walking off.

 

“So, everything okay?” Caitlin asked as she looked over at him.

 

“I talked to Iris,” Barry said and Caitlin winced.

 

“How’d it go?” Caitlin asked as her heart raced, terrified that Barry would say that he was still going to stay with Iris.

 

“Well, she slapped me. And threw this at me,” Barry said as he held up Iris’ ring.

 

“I’m sorry Barry,” Caitlin said and Barry shrugged.

 

“I’m not. I realized that…I don’t love her the way I thought I did. Not the way Joe loves Cecile or Oliver loves Laurel. And if I don’t, then I have no business marrying her. I’m not in love with her Cait, I’m in love with you,” Barry said and Caitlin sighed.

 

“Barry, I don’t wanna be the reason you and Iris broke up,” Caitlin said.

 

“You’re not, you just pushed it along. If anything, you saved me, Iris, and our family from years of pain and misery,” Barry said as he walked over to her, taking her face in his hands. “I love you Caitlin. Iris and whoever can think whatever they want, I don’t care. I just want to be with you. You told me once that you would be ready for me when I was ready for you. I’m ready now if you are. Are you?”

 

Hearing the words she had longed to hear for so long, for the second time in less than twenty four hours, made Caitlin’s heart sing. Caitlin grabbed Barry’s face and pulled him into a deep kiss. Barry backed her against the wall as they kissed passionately before a voice spoke up.

 

“Whoa!” They jumped apart to see Cisco staring at them stunned. “What is this?!”

 

“This is…a long story,” Barry said with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, Joe’s support of WestAllen makes little sense. It completely contradicts the portrayal of Joe as this near perfect father figure. There are several points in season one where Joe could tell Barry to move on with his life by letting go of Iris, but instead he encourages Barry to wait for a day that, for all Joe knew, could have never come. There is even a point where Joe basically tells Barry it’s okay to treat Linda and Eddie like placeholders. What makes this all the more disturbing is that Barry’s behavior could be argued is grounds for a restraining order for Iris. They tried to rectify this in season two by having Joe encourage Barry to try things with Patty but too little, too late.


	17. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here is the final chapter. I would just to thank everyone for your support. I hope you enjoy this.

Star Labs Hanger  
Later

“So, you’re going with them?” Oliver asked Helena as they stood outside The Waveridder.

“Leonard gave me the offer. It’s seemed like a better option than going into hiding, trying to find some place where no one looks at me like I’m a psycho,” Helena shrugged and Oliver nodded.

“I understand that feeling. Take care of yourself Helena,” Oliver said as he held out a hand to her, which she shook.

“You to Oliver. You have something great with Laurel. Don’t let her go,” Helena told him as they dropped hands.

“I don’t plan to, not again,” Olive assured her. 

Helena smiled before she turned and walked over to the Waveridder. Oliver watched her go as he felt someone walk up behind him.

“Ray,” Oliver greeted coldly and Palmer winced.

“Oliver, look, you have every right to be mad-” Palmer started.

“I was mad when I found out you were building a super suit,” Oliver cut him off as he turned around to face him. “I was mad when my mom kept Thea’s parentage a secret from me. Now I’m furious.”

“Look, Oliver, we did what we thought was right,” Palmer tried to explain.

“You and your Legends are hypocrites Ray,” Oliver snapped. “A year ago you judged Barry for Flashpoint, decided he couldn’t be trusted. And then you keep this a secret!?”

“Oliver…” Palmer trailed off; knowing every word Oliver said was true.

“You are no longer welcome in my city Ray. If I ever see you again, I’ll put an arrow in you. The day Sara died, as far as I am concerned, is the day you died. We are no longer friends, we are no longer allies. I’m a man of my word Ray and, from this day forward, you are my enemy. Don’t ever contact me again,” Oliver growled.

Oliver then turned and stormed off, leaving Palmer staring after him in dismay.

Star Labs  
Later in the afternoon

Lyla ran a hand over her face, fighting tears as she stared down at her husband’s dead body. Roy, Thea, and Laurel stood behind her, letting her have a moment.

“Did-did he suffer?” Lyla asked, her voice mostly put together.

“No,” Roy said even as he pictured Diggle’s pain expression as Dark Arrow jammed the arrow into his chest.

“It’s not your fault Roy,” Lyla said.

“It was my arrow that killed him,” Roy said in guilt.

“But not your shot or your hand. You didn’t kill him Roy,” Lyla said as she turned around and put a hand on his shoulder.

“No, that honor belongs to my Doppelganger,” Oliver said grimly as he walked in.

“Hey, how’d it go with the Legends?” Thea asked and Oliver shrugged.

“I saw Helena off, told Ray he wasn’t welcome in Star City, and then I left,” Oliver said before looking over at Lyla. “I’m sorry Lyla.”

“It’s not your fault Oliver,” Lyla said as she dropped her hand from Roy’s shoulder to her side. “I um, still have to call Felicity’s mother.”

“You have enough to deal with Lyla. I’ll handle Donna,” Oliver held up a hand when Lyla started to protest. “She knows me. It’ll be better if I tell her about Felicity.”

“Thank you Oliver,” Lyla sighed before reaching out and taking Laurel’s hand, holding it up as she looked at the ring. “At least one good thing came out of this. It’s a beautiful ring Oliver.”

“About time to,” Roy said eager to chance the subject.

“We all lost a friend today…but this isn’t the end,” Oliver said as he looked around, Lyla dropping Laurel’s hand. “And I think we owe it to John and ourselves to live our lives. Because you know if we die young, John’s never gonna forgive us.”

There were some slightly laughs at that.

“He’s right. Johnny would want us to carry on, to live our lives. And, if I we do see him again, if there is an afterlife…I plan to meet Johnny with no regrets,” Lyla said confidently.

“Sorry this trip was, well, a complete disaster,” Barry told Kara as they, Winn, Caitlin, and Cisco stood in the breach room. 

“I could have done with the Nazis. And especially the part where I lost my hand,” Winn said as he held his now regrown hand.

“But, if we weren’t here, then I would probably be dead and our Nazi doppelgangers would rule my earth. So thank you for saving me,” Kara said as they hugged.

“Thank you for saving us,” Barry said as they let go.

“I’m sorry things didn’t work out between you and Iris,” Kara said and Barry shrugged.

“Sometimes, one thing has to end so another can begin,” Barry said as he shot a look over at Caitlin, who returned it with a smile.

“I’m glad you’re happy man. It was good to see you again,” Winn said, holding out his hand to Barry.

“Good to see you to Winn,” Barry said with a smile as he shook Winn’s hand.

“And I think I’ll miss you most of all. None of the people on my earth get me,” Winn said as he walked over to Cisco.

“I know, they don’t get me here like you do,” Cisco said as they hugged.

“Okay, we better get going before they decide to stay together forever,” Kara said jokingly as Barry and Caitlin laughed.

Kara pulled out the device Cisco had given her on her first visit and pressed the button. A breached opened up behind her as Winn and Cisco let each other.

“It was nice meeting you guys!” Winn said, waving before walking through the portal.

“We’ll have to do this again. Hopefully without the Nazis and everyone dying,” Kara said and Barry nodded.

“We can only make the plans, no promises about the Nazis,” Barry joked and Kara laughed before flying after Winn and the portal closed behind her.

“I’m gonna miss that guy,” Cisco said mournfully as he walked off.

“We’ll be hearing Cisco moan about missing Winn for weeks,” Caitlin joked and Barry laughed with a nod as she looked over at him. “Are you really okay Barry?”

“Yes. I meant what I said, I want to be with you,” Barry pulled out his and Iris’ wedding bands. “Oliver said once that I was time to leave the past in the past. Iris…she’s my past. And while that’s important, it’s just that, the past. You are who I love; you are the woman I want to build a future with. If I have to spend every day assuring you that I mean that, I’ll do it.”

Barry closed his fist around the rings and vibrated his hand. When he opened it, the rings were dust. Barry then turned his hand on its side, letting the remains of the rings fall from his open palm and onto the floor.

“It’s time to leave the past in the past,” Barry said as he grabbed her face and pulled her into a kiss before pulling back. “I love you Caitlin Snow.”

“And I love you Barry Allen. With all my heart,” Caitlin said with a beaming smile before they kissed one more time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I was going to do a flash forward to Barry and Caitlin’s wedding a few years later, but I felt this was the better ending. I might do a one-shot with that idea later, but for now this is the end of this universe.

**Author's Note:**

> In case it’s not obvious, Terminator is Earth-X Slade.


End file.
